Going for the Kill
by AKosh
Summary: Season 2 Post-Finale Fic. What if Gina got into something that involved everyone... Even Beckett? What if that something gave Beckett the choice of doing what's right, or achieving what she deserved? COMPLETE!
1. Broke

**A/N: I don't own Castle or the song used. The song is from The Librarian 3: The Curse of the Judas Chalice. **

Melodious notes floated through the homey apartment, accessing the neighbor to engage in dance. The neighbor smiled as she swung her sash, but froze and cringed as the music paused, followed by an outburst of frustration.

Back at the apartment where the music came from, the pianist banged her head on the electric metronome. Damn that thing! It always confused her and messed her up. She would destroy it if it hadn't cost $70. The piano itself had cost $1300, and thank god it was a digital. Any bigger and she would have to remodel. She had to push her couch to the corner of the living room, and she had to squeeze around the piano to get to the bedroom, though.

The piano looked exceptionally real except for the knobs and the wires. It was black wood, heavy keys, all three golden, shiny pedals, and it even came with a piano bench! The only thing it didn't come with was a metronome, which was unusual, but she bought one.

Speaking of metronomes, the metronome unexpectedly burst out in ticking, startling the young cop. She threw it at the brown couch with the floral print, and dropped her head in her hands, groaning. Damn that thing!

Yes, Kate Beckett, homicide detective, cop, control freak and Castle groupie (Not that anyone knew that) was trying to learn piano.

She picked it up about a month before now, a month after _he_ left. A month after she was about to confess her feelings! She had broken up with Tom, decided to go to the Hamptons, put aside her fears, and what does he do? He shoots her down! Shows up with his ex-wife, whom he doesn't even get along with, and leaves her standing there! With everyone watching! Jeez, how… Idiotic can you get!

Anyway, she needed something to take her mind off things. Lanie suggested guys, Epsosito and Ryan suggested beers, the Captain suggested a day off, and Karpowski suggested piano. Completely random, but hey, it certainly works.

No way was she going to get a teacher, she didn't have the time. Cop, remember? So she bought the books, the piano, the sheets, and that damn metronome.

Beckett wasn't what you would call a 'sharer' so she told no one of her piano learning. Lanie popped in for a surprise drink once, though, and well, the piano wasn't that easy to hide. So Lanie found out, and eventually it slipped out to Esposito, and he obviously told Ryan, and that was how she found Basic Piano for Dummies on her desk.

Of course, everyone in the precinct saw it, so she made sure everyone saw her drop it into the garbage, right _next_ to her desk. She was always the last one there, so she snatched it out of the can and ran to the bathroom with it, skimming through. Hey, there was some pretty good information in there!

She was extra cautious, who knows if someone would peek over the stall and catch her? After making sure that the book was worth reading, she slipped it in her bag and left to her apartment, but this was weeks ago.

The book was now lounging on the floor of her closet, for she didn't feel like giving it a proper place, and she only took it out when something went wrong with the piano. Ever since Castle left, she was lazy, and didn't feel like giving everything the control and neatness she liked.

She scanned the notes in her practice book, her eyes squinting as the reflection of the lamp glared off the paper. She rested her right hand on the keys and played a small, quick tune. She put the book on the stand and placed her fingers delicately on the keys. She started a soft, jolly tune with the left, which was accompanied by her right hand, slowing the song down and giving it a sadder glow. Just as her pinky hit a D, her index finger skimmed a C#, which was a minor mistake, almost invisible, but to Beckett, the control freak, it meant everything.

She shouted in frustration as she threw her hands in the air. Why world? Why? Why must she mess up, when it was going so well?

She took a deep breath, and started again. The song brought back memories, for it was a lullaby her mom always sang to her. It was a sad lullaby, but a lullaby all the same. It was fairly common, so the sheet music was easy to locate on the Internet. (But if anyone asks, she modified it in her head.)

A smile crept on her face as the notes blended in harmony. She recalled the song in her mind and opened her mouth, chanting quietly.

_"I see the sadness in your eyes is more than you let on_  
_They ask where love is gone_

Was it some magic or a twist, a spell that crossed the stars  
Whatever happened here we are"

Her voice went a little smoother, but stronger as well.

_"I gave up hoping oh, so long ago, I can't remember even when_  
_But I wonder could this be the one who'll make me live again"_

She was about to start the chorus, almost laughing at the fortune of how her song was coming. It was actually working!

"_To love and lose and love again, like seasons come and go  
It's what odds are made for_-_"_

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

Her hands froze, her voice silent. She closed her gaping mouth to stop herself from yelling, "Damn you!" at the door. She closed the piano lid and slipped her hand under the cushion on the piano bench, pulling out her off-duty piece. Good hiding place, huh?

She hid it behind her back as she slowly walked up to the door. She kept the chain lock on and unlocked the deadbolt. She opened it a crack and eyed the stranger outside her door. She fought the urge to cry in anger. Of all people to interrupt one of the hardest experiences in her life, it had to be him?

She closed the door and unhooked the chain, and swung the door open, her gun still ready behind her back. (You can't blame her, can you?)

She made sure he got a clear profile of her baggy clothes, her worn face and tussled hair. She saw a look of surprise on his face from her appearance, and then Beckett slammed the door in Castle's face, turning every single lock.

No way was she going to let him in, not after what he did to her. Not after how he hurt her. Not after how he broke her.


	2. Crumple

**A/N: Castle belongs to its respective owners.  
**

Beckett stored the piano bench under the piano and retreated to the kitchen, grabbing some stored leftovers from the fridge. Yes, it was leftover take-out, but it was still food. She ignored the further knocking and took out a cup, pouring water from the tap into it. She heated up some chow mein and placed her dishes on the glass table in front of her couch. She sat herself and was about to take a bite when Castle started talking.

"Beckett? Beckett! Why aren't you answering? Beckett!"

Beckett rolled her eyes and started eating. Eventually he would just leave.

"Beckett! Come on! Answer the door! I know you're there!"

She considered calling the doorman, but it wasn't that important. He would give up soon.

"Look, I brought food! Chinese, your favorite!"

Beckett sighed. Time for plan B. She placed down her chopsticks and walked over to the door.

"Go away, Castle, I'm busy!" She yelled at the door. It was silent, and Beckett thought that he finally left, but she was sadly mistaken.

"Busy? Beckett this is really important!"

Beckett bit her lip and mentally cursed him. '_Important my ass,_' She thought. She picked up her plate and started advancing to her room when Castle's tone softened.

"Beckett, please. I promise this is important, someone's life depends on it!"

Beckett wanted to scream in frustration. Why wouldn't he just leave? She put back down her plate and walked back over to the door.

"Whose life depends on it, Castle?" Beckett asked, leaning against the door.

Castle hesitated. "Gina."

Wrong answer, Castle.

Beckett scowled. "If this is about your book, Castle, that's really too bad, because I don't have any information for your research."

"This isn't about the book!"

Beckett jumped away from the door in surprise. She braced herself incase Castle started getting angry, but what she heard startled her. His weight fell against the door and his voice was whimpered.

"Gina… Poor Gina…"

Beckett flung the door open and looked down at Castle's crumpled form. He looked up at her and she saw that his appearance was worse than hers. He was wearing tan shorts with a wrinkled white button-up shirt. His face was blotchy and tear-streaked, and his eyes were dull and lifeless.

"Castle… What happened? Is everything okay?"

"No, no it's not okay. It's not okay. It's not okay!"

"Whoa, hey, it's going to be alright. What's the matter?"

"Beckett, it's Gina. She… She…"

"What, Castle? She what?"

Castle dropped his head into his hands. Beckett leaned against the door frame and crossed her arms. She sighed.

"Castle, this can take all night, and I'm not going to wait that long."

"You don't understand, I was there, she was there, and I only went to the bathroom..."

"Castle-What happened?" She pressed. Castle just sighed and didn't answer.

"Fine. I don't have time for this. Go back to the Hamptons and write with your publisher."

She started to close the door when Castle turned and pushed against the door. Beckett refrained from closing it and looked down in annoyance.

"Are you ready to deal?"

Castle nodded and gulped.

"Gina was in the kitchen while I went to the bathroom, and when I came out..."

"Castle. What?"

"She was gone!"

"By gone you mean..."

"She was kidnapped. Beckett, she was taken ransom!"


	3. Force

**A/N: Castle belongs to its respective owners. Sorry the chapters are so short, they'll get longer.  
**

Beckett tried not to gape. Gina was taken ransom? How was she even kidnapped, if Castle was there?

"Castle, I'm sorry, but I'm a homicide detective, incase you forgot. I don't solve kidnappings. Why didn't you call the FBI?"

"Because the first thing I thought of was seeing you. You're able to solve kidnappings, I've seen it!"

"I-"

"Beckett, I'm connected to this case! They want my money! And since I'm a consultant at the precinct-"

"You _were_ a consultant at the twelfth precinct. We just had our last case last month, remember?" Beckett corrected.

Castle stood up and leaned against the doorframe. He looked terrible. His usual shaven face had some rough, uneven scruff, his eyes were red and his whole face was just sunken.

"Can I come in to use your phone, at least?" Castle asked. "I left my phone at my beach house."

Beckett sighed and frowned. "Fine. Come in." She walked in, leaving Castle to enter and close the door. He staggered over to a cabinet and picked up the portable phone. He started dialing and brought the phone to his ear.

Beckett stored her uneaten dishes in the fridge and walked over to her piano. She pulled out the bench and dropped on it, leaning against the piano.

"Hi, this is Rick Castle. Yeah, is Montgomery in? He is? Great." Beckett looked up at him in confusion. Why was he calling Montgomery?

"Hey… Yeah… Yeah… Listen, my ex-wife Gina-Yeah, my publisher. She was stolen from my beach house in the Hamptons." Castle's voice dropped down a few notches, and his shoulders sagged.

"Yes, you have it? Good… Thanks, I'll meet you there. Or the team. Really? Alright, I'll tell her. Thanks again, 'k, bye."

Castle hung up and put the phone back on its charger. He looked a little more upbeat and walked over to Beckett.

"Montgomery's sending a team to investigate the beach house." Castle informed her. Beckett bit her lip and brushed a string of hair out of her face.

"Great, glad we could be of service. Now if you could excuse me-"

"One more thing. You're on the case too."

Beckett clawed at her cheek as she stood up and started pacing the room. She popped air out of her cheeks and turned to him.

"Come again?" She cocked her head.

"Montgomery said that since I'm your consultant you would be happy to take the case." Beckett eyed him angrily and he quickly added, "And because you're his best."

"Really? Because I thought I was a homicide detective… Or was I mistaken?"

"Beckett, come on."

Beckett balled her fists and grabbed her coat hanging by the door. She plucked her keys from the bowl to her right and exited the apartment, waiting for Castle to follow. Once they were both out, she locked the door and walked over to the elevators. Castle walked into the elevator once it opened and chose to watch the wall. Beckett had a strange feeling to take the stairs so she headed that way, letting the elevator doors close in Castle's face.

Castle was waiting for her at the bottom of the staircase. She walked straight past him and entered the lobby, exiting through the side door. Castle ran after her brisk walk, feeling confused as to why she was giving him the cold shoulder. His ex-wife was just kidnapped! Surely she could show a little respect?

Beckett unlocked the car doors from a distance and the lights flooded the parking lot. She reached her car and got inside, turning on the engine and checking the heater. Castle got in on the other side and blew in his hands, then rubbing them on his face.

She backed out and left the parking lot, gripping the steering wheel so tightly her knuckles went white. Castle leaned against the window but then sat up straight, as if realizing something.

"Shouldn't I be driving?" He asked her. Beckett kept her eyes on the road.

"Just give me the directions."

"But wouldn't it be easier if I drove?"

"Castle, you should know by now that I will never let you drive my car."

Castle went back to his current position. "Point taken."


	4. Corrupt

**A/N: Castle belongs to its respective owners.**

Beckett closed her eyes and slouched into the seat and the traffic slowed, not letting her move an inch. They've been driving for the past four hours and they were still at least seventy miles away. She hated to admit it, but as torturous as it was, Castle's nonstop talking would help right now. But she could tell he wasn't in a mood for talking, and even if he were, she would shut him down.

Castle looked over at her for the first time since they left her apartment, and Beckett just ignored him, feeling his eyes on her face. She took a deep breath and whipped her arm out, cutting Castle off from reaching his arm to her side of the dashboard.

"What do you want?" Beckett muttered, her head tilting to the side.

"I just want to get moving faster." Castle replied, reaching over again. She cut him off again, not even needing to see.

"And how do you plan to do that?"

"If you would stop hitting me I would show you."

Beckett stayed silent, her eyelids half open. Castle saw her slowly nodding off.

"So!" He said loudly, causing Beckett to sit straight up. She scowled and looked at the still traffic. "I didn't see Demming over, he out working?"

Beckett bit her lip, hard, and looked at the opposing window. She figured it would come to this sometime.

"I don't know what Tom is doing. I don't have the heart to care."

Castle snapped his head over to her.

"Why wouldn't you care?"

"Because it's not important to me. And because that would be considered stalking."

"How is it stalking to know what your boyfriend is doing?"

Beckett glared daggers at him and shifted her glance to the clutch.

"He's not my boyfriend."

Castle gasped. "What? Your… But it's only been…" He was speechless.

"It doesn't matter how long it's been, sometimes things just don't work out like they used to."

"You and Demming are getting married?" Castle shrieked, earning a jump from Beckett.

"What? No!"

"Oh. You're sure?"

Beckett closed her eyes. "Yes Castle. I'm sure." Her voice broke slightly.

"So… You're not getting married, and he's not your boyfriend… Oh. _Oh_."

"You've had, what? Two ex-wives? How did you not know what I was talking about?"

"My common sense was clouded." He mumbled.

"I thought you didn't use your common sense."

"Doesn't mean I don't have it."

Beckett bit her lip and looked up at Castle. His face was a sea of frantic emotions. To her, it looked like his expression was between sympathy and winning the lottery. Weird.

She groaned and hit her head against the steering wheel. The traffic was killing her. So much that she gave up on waiting and decided to ask Castle on his advice.

"Okay Castle, what was it that would get us faster?"

Castle smirked deviously and reached forward again. "Grab the wheel and you might want to lean back." He advised her. Beckett followed his instructions. "Okay… Hold on tight!"

As soon as he said that she instantly regretted asking. "Castle, what-"

Castle flipped two switches: One that flashed the lights and the other that blew the siren.

"Castle! This isn't an emergency!"

"Who said anything about an emergency?"

Sure enough, the lines quickly cleared and Beckett put the pedal to the medal. They eventually exited the traffic and entered the freeway.

"See? Aren't you glad you listened to me?"

Beckett just kept her eyes on the road. Castle took out his phone and began playing Tetris on it.

"I thought you didn't have your phone." Beckett observed suspiciously. Castle grinned sheepishly.

"Yeah, sorry… That was just an excuse to go inside your apartment… Heh."

Beckett muttered, "Stalker," under her breath.

They kept driving. And driving. And driving.

Castle had gotten bored of Tetris and changed to swapping at the visor. Beckett grinded her teeth and tried to avoid looked over, knowing that was the point.

"Have you ever wished someone would just disappear?"

Beckett raised her eyebrows. "Oh yes, many times, trust me."

"But then they actually disappeared?"

"Eh… No. They never actually disappeared."

"That's what happened to me. Gina was annoying the hell out of me and I just wished that she would disappear so I could work in peace. And then she was just gone."

"What did you find?" Beckett asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"There was a note. I left it there at the scene for evidence. It said, 'If you want the girl back, you will pay $6,000,000. Expect our call.' Six million!"

"Did it look like there was a struggle?"

"Well… The note was in the kitchen, and some pots and pans were littered on the floor. But I didn't hear anything."

"Were you listening to music or something loud that could have blocked the sound?"

"No, I like to work in silence." Castle then snapped his fingers. "That's it! I know how to start the next book! Nikki Heat's ex gets kidnapped!"

"Interesting. But I think Rook's ex should get captured."

"Are you kidding? He has millions of ex-girlfriends!"

"Are you sure it's Rook that has all the girls?"

"...What are you saying?"

"Castle, back to the real world."

"Right. Okay, so Gina had told me that she was going to make some brownies. I told her anything to let me work in silence, and then she just left the room. I didn't notice anything until an hour passed and I hadn't heard from her. I went to the kitchen but she was gone and I found the note. I hopped into the car and came straight to you."

"Did you turn off the oven?"

"The oven wasn't even on. There wasn't any brownie mix in the making either…"

"What are you getting at, Castle?"

"Last summer there were two brownie packs at the beach house and Alexis baked both of them. I remember having to scrape them out of the pan. Gina was there, too, and she said that they smelled revolting. "

"So…?"

"So she didn't like brownies. She even said that she didn't."

"And…?"

"And she said she was going to make them! Gina never does something she hates!"

"So why would she make them?"

"Maybe it was a cover-up. Perhaps she was really in the kitchen hatching a plan to corrupt me!"

"Right."

"Seriously! Why else would she be in the kitchen?"

"I don't know, maybe doing making brownies like she said she would? Maybe because she knows you like them?"

"But… What if she was meeting someone?"

"Someone as in the kidnappers?"

"And then things went wrong and they took her!"

"I suppose it is possible… But I can't be sure of anything until I see the crime scene."

"I'm telling you, she was behind something!"

"And I'm telling you to keep your accusations to yourself. We'll be there soon, and until then we'll just have to sit here in this traffic."

"Or…"

"Castle, don't even think about it."

"Too late!" He flipped the switches and off they sped through the traffic, a dangerously annoyed Beckett behind the wheel.


	5. Threat

**A/N: Castle belongs to its respective owners.**

Beckett exited the Crown Vic and walked up to Castle's beach house, the doors already open. She heard the cops buzzing around inside and the glare of the police lights blinded her. This wasn't how she imagined coming here, at least not a month ago.

She tightened her jacket around her and went inside. She avoided the bottle of open Nutella on the kitchen counter and felt something cold and circular push against the side of her skull. With her heart leaping into her throat, she grabbed her gun and turned to point it at whoever put the barrel at her head.

There was a loud squeal and Beckett was knocked to the floor as a light but startling weight jumped on her chest. She groaned and gazed down at her attacker. It was a Chihuahua.

A weak chuckle came from behind her. Castle gave his hand to her and pulled her up. She blew hair out of her face and looked down at the dog that was currently rubbing against her leg.

"Why is there a loose Chihuahua here?" She asked Castle, crossing her arms.

"Oh, that's Winston – Gina's little angel. She had to bring him along."

"Why is he loose?"

"Because I didn't lock him in his carrier."

"There is important evidence at this crime scene. And you just happen to not lock a dog in his carrier? One that lives at the crime scene?"

"My ex-wife was just kidnapped in my house! I think I'm allowed to be a little forgetful."

"No, you're not! This is real, Castle. You can't leave out something that destroys!"

"It's just a dog!"

"A dog that could have chewed up evidence!"

"Jeez, why is this bothering you so much?"

"What do you expect? I'm roped into a kidnapping case against my will and I can't even enter the crime scene without being knocked over by a Chihuahua!"

"You're just annoyed because a little dog scared you."

"It wouldn't have 'scared' me if you hadn't left it out."

"So now it's my fault?"

"Yes!"

"If you didn't get annoyed so easily you would have already been back at the precinct viewing evidence!"

"If you had locked up your pet I would be!"

"Just go to the crime scene, Winston isn't stopping you now!"

"Fine, I will."

"Good!"

"Good! And while I'm gone, lock it up!"

"He's not an it, he's a living creature!"

"Whatever!"

Beckett stormed off, ignoring the snickers from Ryan and Esposito, who had been passing by when they overheard. Castle looked away from her retreating back and picked up Winston, nuzzling his nose into his fur.

"It's okay Winston, mean cop-lady isn't going to bother you anymore." Winston whined and licked Castle's nose. "I know, I don't know why she got so upset at you either. But for some reason I feel that it wasn't your fault she got so angry."

He took Winston to the bedroom and placed him in his cage. He slid the lock closed and pressed his face against the metal gate.

"Don't worry Winston, once all the people are gone you can come back out, okay? Okay." Castle left the room and walked passed his office. He glanced inside and saw his laptop being examined. Someone muttered about a password and started to take the back panel out. Castle gasped and ran inside, gingerly taking his laptop.

"Excuse me, but I need that," The man who had been messing with the laptop said aggressively. Castle hesitated and instead of returning it he placed it on a side table.

"If you needed the password you could've just asked." Castle said in a 'duh' voice. He quickly typed something in and handed the laptop back to the policeman.

"For future reference, may we know what the password is?"

Castle looked at him like he was crazy. "And let my work be public, or worse, disposed? My password is private, thank you very much." And with that he left the office.

Castle found Beckett, Ryan, and Esposito huddled around the kitchen table. Ryan was smoothing out a crumpled piece of paper.

"It was in a crumpled up ball," Esposito informed Castle. "Did you find it like that?"

"No, it's the note from the kidnappers. I crushed it in anger." Castle admitted sheepishly. Beckett sighed loudly.

"What have I told you about touching evidence?" She asked Castle, not turning to meet his eyes.

"And what have I told you about getting annoyed so easily?" Castle retorted. Beckett didn't answer, instead slapped smirking Esposito's arm.

"Here," Ryan handed the now smooth note to Beckett. She read it aloud.

" _'__Thanks to her refusal, your ex-wife has been taken. If you want to take the chance that she might live, you'll pay us 6,000,000. We know you can afford it, unless her life isn't important to you. If you want the girl back, you'll pay. Do not try to find us. Expect our call.' _"

"Have you been contacted yet?" Ryan asked Castle. Castle shook his head.

"As soon as I read it I headed over to Beckett's. I haven't had any contact with anyone on my phone."

"There aren't any messages or missed calls on the house phone either." Esposito told them.

"Guys, there's something on the back." Beckett flipped the note over. She silently read it and the color from her face drained.

"What is it?" Castle asked, about to read over her shoulder. With a worried voice, Beckett read the back.

"_ '__Say hi to Alexis for us. But we'll probably do it first.' _"

Castle looked as if he was about to faint.

"Those men know my daughter? Oh god, what if they come after her? We've got to protect her!"

"Where is she?" Beckett asked, taking out her phone.

"She's at Princeton for a summer program." Castle paced back and forth, muttering bits of nothing.

Beckett looked up Alexis's number in her contacts. She motioned for them to come closer and they leaned close to her phone. The phone rang twice and Beckett heard the click of the phone being answered.

"_Hello Detective Beckett._" The voice on the other line said. The men couldn't hear the conversation and looked at Beckett in question as she almost dropped her phone. The voice most certainly wasn't Alexis.

"What have you done with Alexis?" Beckett asked. Castle backed away, fear etched across his profile.

"_She's fine for now, but if she hadn't given us such a fight she might've been better. Don't try to bargain with us, Detective, it won't work. All we want is the money._"

"Give me proof they're okay."

"_You'll get your proof when we get the money._"

"I'm afraid it won't work like that. If you really want that money you'll give us proof."

"_How about this: Give us the money once we direct you where and when, or they both die._"

"You wouldn't kill them, if they were dead you wouldn't receive the money."

"_True, very true. But I'm sure we can get more out of them if we don't get the money._"

"Don't you dare touch them."

"_Too late, Detective. Much too late. But, if you really want proof, I suppose we can let you hear a taste of what can happen if you don't pay._"

Before Beckett could object, she heard Alexis's screams and pleads. They radiated through the phone and echoed into the hallways. Castle growled and lunged for Beckett's phone but she pushed him away.

"_As I said, that was a taste. We will do far worse._" The man chuckled darkly. "_I'm going to go now, and don't call us back. Every time you call the pain gets worse. So be a good girl and wait for us to call._"

He hung up.


	6. Control

**A/N: Castle belongs to its respective owners.**

The four were silent, all of them staring at the tiled floor. Beckett tensed when she heard a low growl emit from Castle's throat. He stomped over to the kitchen sink and grabbed a spoon out of it. He turned around and flung it at the beige wall, letting out a strangled yell. He ran his hands through his tussled hair and leaned against the island, hanging his head.

Beckett silently padded over to him, careful of his bubbled rage. She slowly placed her palm on his shoulder.

"Castle," She said softly, giving his shoulder a light squeeze, "Trust me. Everything's going to be o-"

"_Don't say that!_" Castle gripped both of her shoulders and gave her a light shake. "Don't you _dare_ say that! Do you know how it feels when your most precious jewel is in danger? She's my daughter! My flesh and my blood! Do you know how it feels when the whole reason you're living for is in fatal trouble? Huh? Do you?" Fire burned in his eyes. Beckett knew that the boys' hands probably drew to their guns, but they knew she could fight him off. She recoiled his words in her head, feeling pain, which quickly turned to anger. She felt undesired tears creep up and she blinked them away, narrowing her eyes at his, not breaking the contact.

"Well be thankful she's not dead!" Beckett spat at him, tearing away from him. She ran out of the kitchen, not caring about the cowardly motion. She wasn't scared; she was dead angry, and anyone who knew her well enough knew not to get to close, because she rarely got filled with much infuriation, but when she did, it was ugly. Really. Ugly.

How could he get angry with her? How could he ask such questions? Deep down she knew that his rage blinded him, but her own anger was at tipping at the peak too much to acknowledge the facts.

She did a few quick breathing exercises, ones that her old therapist taught her long ago. Instead of boiling down her anger, it made her feel pathetic. Her whole life she had pushed away her pain, locked it up and never let it out, so no one around had to get involved. So no one had to feel her pain. Day after day she brought help and closure to those who had been hurt like she had, and did she ever get that closure and help? No! She deserved to get closure! She deserved to get angry!

_No Kate_, she thought, _Castle's daughter and ex-wife have both been captured. This is no time to get angry at your own problems. Just calm down, and go back inside. Do your job. Do your job._

She took out her phone and dialed.

* * *

"Come on, Castle, now's not a time to get angry. Especially at Beckett. She and we are here to help. First thing tomorrow we'll get right on it." Esposito assured, clapping Castle on the back.

"Yeah, we'll even let you get first dibs on espresso!" Ryan added, smiling at him, mentally swearing inside that he would now have to go to Starbucks to get his coffee before work. And by the look Esposito was giving him, he guessed that he was thinking the same.

"Thanks guys." Castle finally said, sending relieved smiles on the boys' faces. He heard Beckett's heels clacking on the tiled floor.

"Patrols are on their way to Castle's loft. You probably don't want to stay at the crime scene, so Ryan will drive you home. You'll be safe. See you in the morning, guys." Beckett stated, avoiding Castle's gaze. Castle decided that talking would just make things worse, so he nodded. Ryan tried not to glare at Beckett as she left the room. Great, now he had to be up all night driving Castle home, then he had to go to Starbucks in the morning because he let Castle drink the first espresso.

"I guess there's no Honey Milk tonight." Esposito coughed as he left the kitchen.

'Let's go Castle, maybe if we're lucky we'll speed through traffic."

"You know, I know a faster way of getting through traffic…"

* * *

Beckett arrived at her apartment and flopped on her bed, still in her pea coat. Unfortunately, that's how she fell asleep, and how she woke up too.

* * *

She quickly showered and had to scarf down a hot pocket in the elevator. She drove to the precinct, shivering as the cold water from her hair soaked through her shirt.

Her hair whipped around her cool skin as she sat herself down at her desk, frantically groping for her coffee cup. It wasn't like her to be late.

"I believe you're looking for this, Detective?" Castle asked as he stood next to her desk, placing her 'Innocent Bystander' mug in front of her. She eagerly grabbed it and sipped it down, not even noticing the liquid burn her throat. She had to stay awake. And luckily, coffee was her secret weapon.

"Thank you." Beckett smiled at him. He seated himself at his 'consultant chair,' as he called it. He looked a little more cheerful, but Beckett could tell that most of it was forced.

Ryan and Esposito walked over to her, both sipping Starbucks. Beckett raised her eyebrow at them, but Ryan sent her a look that said 'Don't Ask'.

"So did Gina's phone get checked?" Beckett asked them. They nodded.

"You found her phone? She never goes anywhere without her phone." Castle said.

"Well evidently she didn't this time. Did you check the contacts?"

"Yeah, and one of them is coming in now. Casey… Mandriks?" Esposito asked Ryan, who nodded. Castle paled for a second but shook it off.

"Did you say Mandriks?" Castle asked them.

"Yeah, you know her?" Esposito asked.

"Yep. She's Gina's best girlfriend."

Beckett recognized the uncomfortable gleam in Castle's eye. Her lip twitched with amusement and disgust.

"You didn't." She told him. The boys look at her, confused.

"Hey, she seduced me!" Castle exclaimed, putting his hands up. Beckett grinned, the excitement from the night before washed away in her mind.

"Dude, you slept with your ex-wife's best friend? That is so wrong." Esposito said, shaking his head.

"She called saying she and Gina had gotten into a cold-blooded fight, and that she needed some comfort!"

"You fell for _that?_" Beckett mocked him.

"Oh don't tell me none of you guys have never slept with a close one's best friend!"

"I'm going to get some sugar," Ryan said quickly, leaving the room. Esposito smirked.

"Nah man, it's the ex-wife's most beautiful friend," He joked, fist bumping Castle.

Beckett rolled her eyes. "Either you two are total creeps or have really sad lives."

* * *

"Ms. Mandriks, how did you and Gina meet?" Beckett asked the suspect, Casey Mandriks, who leaned away from the interrogation table.

"It's Mrs. Mandriks, now, actually." Casey said, swinging out her hand, a huge diamond on her ring finger.

"Congratulations," Castle told her.

"Are you surprised, Ricky?"

Beckett's eyes snapped down underneath the table, catching Casey's legs wrapping around Castle's. She swiftly pinched his waist and he pulled back, his face twitching in pain. Casey turned back to Beckett.

"We met at Harvard. She was studying for a business degree."

"And what were you studying for, Mrs. Mandriks?"

"Medical degree."

"So you work in the medical field?"

"No, I dropped out. I now pose for organic commercials, which is where I met my husband. But Gina and I never lost touch. We didn't call each other often but ran into each other at a party, and then starting going out together ever since."

"I don't mean to pry, but why did you drop out?"

"I don't believe that has any significance to why I'm here, does it?"

"I don't know, does it?"

"Look Detective, I don't have to tell you."

"Fair enough, for now. When was the last time you and Gina got together?"

"About two months ago. We went out for lunch."

"Where did you go?"

"Um… Some restaurant in Little Italy."

"Do you remember her seeing anyone when you were in college?"

"No, I don't think she was seeing anyone. She was very serious about her studies."

"Where were you between seven and nine last night?" Castle asked her. Casey swung her long brunette hair behind her left shoulder and sighed.

"I was out shooting."

"Can anyone verify that?" Beckett asked.

"The camera crew, the directors, and my agent."

"Thank you Mrs. Mandriks, I will call if we have any further questions."

"Goodbye." Casey left the room, looking back once to smile at Castle.

"What next?" Castle asked Beckett once Casey was gone.

"Next, we go to Princeton."


	7. Secret

**A/N: Castle belongs to its respective owners.**

Castle and Beckett walked through the dorm halls until they reached Alexis's dorm, number 211. Beckett knocked, and upon not receiving an answer she opened the door, surprised to see that it was unlocked.

"Castle, try that side." She suggested, pointing to her right. Castle immediately scampered over to the bureaus as Beckett checked the bathroom. Her phone went off, the sound vibrating against the cold, tile walls. She checked the ID and seeing that it was Ryan, quickly flipped it open.

"What do you got?" She asked him. Castle poked his head in, looking at her questioningly. She mouthed 'precinct' and he nodded.

Castle saw her shoulders drop and she started to bite at her lip madly, something he knew she did when she was either nervous or frustrated. She hung up the phone and slipped it in her jean pocket, shaking her head at Castle.

"The call from Alexis's phone was untraceable."

Castle sighed and went back to checking the beds. Beckett found the usual in the bathroom: Toiletries, make-up, etc.

"Beckett, I found something!" Castle called over his shoulder. She shot over to him like a hawk and picked up a piece of folded paper that was hidden in a pillowcase.

"It has her name on it," She noted, unfolding it. She read it over and handed it to Castle.

"What the… Oh. It's chemistry." Castle said.

"Yeah, well-"

"Hey, aren't you Lex's dad?" They turned to see a seventeen-year-old boy looking in the room, his face filled with worry.

"Wait, you're that boy that Alexis brought home. Calvin." Castle realized.

"Um, it's Carter." The boy corrected, looking at Beckett. "And you're that cop Lex kept talking about."

"You know Alexis?" Beckett asked Carter.

"Yeah, I'm her-" He cut off when Castle sent him a suspicious glare. "-Friend! I'm her friend, that's all."

"Really? Because you should know not to lie to a cop."

Carter shifted uneasily under Castle's gaze. "We went out sometimes, just like to study and for lunch… Nothing serious."

"Were you planning on doing something serious?" Castle blurted out, his fatherly-protective side coming through.

"I don't know. We were going to meet last night under the old oak tree in the front, but she never showed."

"And what exactly were you going to do under that oak tree last night?" Castle asked. Beckett backhanded his shoulder, giving him the silent message to back off. "I don't think we should trust that Canter." Castle muttered to her. Carter's eyebrows furrowed.

"It's _Carter_."

"When was the last time you saw Alexis?" Beckett butted in, keeping Castle away from strangling the poor boy with his questions.

"Yesterday afternoon. We were studying in the library."

"Was she acting strange?"

"Why would she be acting strangely? Is she alright?"

Castle narrowed his eyes. Beckett looked at the boy and said in her best cop voice, "No, she's not. She was taken by kidnappers last night."

"What? No, that's not possible!"

"Was anyone hostile towards her? A teacher or student maybe?"

"As far as I know she got along with everyone. But there was this rumor going around… But I know Lex, she would never do it…"

"Do what?" Castle asked suspiciously

"There was this rumor going around that was probably spread by Jessica, one of Lex's roommates. She said that Alexis was stealing her work and turning it in as her own."

"She would never do that!" Castle exclaimed, angered by Carter's accusation.

"I agree. But it was really getting to her, a lot of the friends she made here stopped wanting to hang out with her. The teachers never noticed though."

"What's Jessica's last name?" Beckett asked. Carter looked to the ceiling in thought.

"Banks. Jessica Banks. Classes end at seven. She'll probably be back around nine."

"Thank you Carter, if you have anything else please don't hesitate to call." She handed him her card.

"Of course. I think Jessica is in astronomy right now, the room's right down the hall and to your right."

"Thank you Carter, you've been very helpful. Oh, and where were you last night around six to nine?"

"I was in class till seven then went straight to my dorm."

Carter gave a sad smile and left the room, his head down and his hands stuffed in his pockets. Beckett could easily tell how worried he was about Alexis, but she couldn't afford to feel sorry for him. He was still a suspect. After all, seventeen is the new twenty-five.

"Castle, keep searching the room for anything while I go fetch Jessica." Castle nodded and went back to work while Beckett exited the room.

"I still don't trust him!" Castle called after her.

"Of course you don't, he's one of your daughter's first boyfriends!" She yelled back, shutting the door behind her.

Students crowded the halls, most going to the mess hall. Beckett pushed her way through and ignored the strange looks the students were giving her. She followed Carter's directions and found the room. It was obvious that she had found the right one, for the door was plastered with pictures of planets and constellations. Beckett quietly opened the door and saw the professor drawing Mars, or what she thought was Mars, on an overhead. Beckett lightly knocked, announcing her presence.

The teacher looked up and smiled at her, but Beckett could see the annoyed glint in his eyes. "May I help you?"

"Yes, I'm looking for Jessica Banks? I was told she was here."

"And whom does it concern?"

Beckett sighed. She pulled out her badge and ignored the mutterings from the students.

"Detective Kate Beckett, NYPD. I have some questions concerning a kidnapping."

"Oh, right away Detective. Jessica! Get up here!"

A girl slowly got out of her seat, straightening her blouse and smoothing her miniskirt. She grabbed her binder and walked towards the door. She exited the room, motioning Beckett to follow her. Beckett said a quick thank you and followed her to Alexis's dorm. Castle looked up, excited when they entered. He mouthed "Found something," to her, but Beckett raised a finger, telling him to wait.

Jessica sat down on a bed and looked at the Detective in annoyance.

"You just took me out of a test that I have been studying about for the last week. This better be important."

"Jessica, is it true that you spread the rumor about Alexis stealing your work?" Beckett asked, inviting Castle to sit with her.

"It wasn't a rumor, I swear! I saw her steal my work."

"You actually witnessed her taking your work?"

"Well, I saw her turning it in. I was with her and I recognized my handwriting on the essay."

"You're sure?"

"Yes! I know what I saw!"

"So you were looking at her paper." Jessica nodded. "Just like you've been looking at me when you talk." Beckett stood up and walked behind Jessica. "So tell me. What's my eye color? And no peeking."

"Does this matter?"

"Yes. It tests your vision."

Jessica sighed impatiently. "Green?"

"Close. Hazel with green. Mostly Hazel."

"So?"

"So, this shows that the mind plays tricks on you. What you thought was your handwriting could most possibly been Alexis's."

"You said you were working on a kidnapping case, right? Why are you asking me about a rumor?"

"Alexis was kidnapped last night. Apparently you didn't like her. Do the math."

"You think I did it? I'm only seventeen!"

"Seventeen is a reasonable age."

"I would never kidnap anyone! I'll prove it! When was she taken?"

"Between Six and Nine PM."

"I was in class till seven-thirty and out at a party across the street till ten."

"Did anyone see you?"

"My friend, Isabel. We went to the party together. She was with me in astronomy."

"Thank you, you can go back to class now."

"Thank you." Jessica quickly left and hurried down the halls. Beckett slouched and looked over to Castle.

"You were strangely silent."

"Just thinking. I don't think she did it."

"Why not?"

"Well… I guess because I just don't think she's capable. I understand her spreading the rumor, but going all the way to kidnapping? I don't think she would do that."

"Neither do I. But until we run down her and Carter's alibis, we just have to keep searching."

Beckett's phone went off and interrupted Castle's whine. She didn't recognize the caller and with dread she guessed who it was.

"Hello?" She answered, biting her lower lip.

"I'm glad you waited for our call. The girls are too, but unfortunately, Alexis is very confident you will find her. Too bad we had to dash her hopes." The voice said. Beckett looked over at Castle and he her face twitch in anxiousness. He yanked the phone away from her and brought it to his ear, standing up to get away from Beckett's reaching arm.

"Whatever you're doing, it's not going to work, 'you hear me? We're going to find you, and once we do, you're dead."

The man chuckled. "Give the phone back to Kate. I have a message for her."

Beckett was finally able to pry the phone away from Castle. She put it up to her ear as soon as he started to speak.

"Listen closely Kate, for this is the only hint you'll get from us: You get a choice, wife or daughter. Once you choose, one we'll slaughter. You have one week to find us then, and if you fail, we win again. But first ask your precious writer, 'Do you think that you're a fighter?' And once he answers, you will see, that your thoughts of revenge are not from me.

"We will call in one week for your decision. And by your decision we mean your personal decision. You cannot tell Castle anything about this hint except what you're told to tell him. If you give anyone the slightest nudge about this, they both die."


	8. Misstep

**A/N: Castle belongs to its respective owners.**

'_You get a choice, wife or daughter. Once you choose, one we'll slaughter. You have one week to find us then, and if you fail, we win again. But first ask your precious writer, 'Do you think that you're a fighter?' And once he answers, you will see, that your thoughts of revenge are not from me._'

The words rang in Beckett's head, confusing her. Wife or daughter? One we'll slaughter? The obvious echoed in her mind. Of course she would choose Alexis; she was young, full of life, and she still had a lot of life to go through. She was only in high school! That was definitely who she would choose… If it wasn't a matter of life or death. If she chose Alexis, Gina would die. If she chose Gina, Alexis would die. God, she wished she could ask for help.

She lightly banged her head on her piano. Besides the threat/hint, all she could think about was Castle. Which would he choose? How would he choose which one? How will he react when she has to choose? It didn't help either that he kept asking what they said.

She refrained from asking him about the fighter comment. She would rather do that alone, without the precinct watching. Who knew what his reaction would be?

And what did they mean by that her thoughts of revenge are not from them? Did he mean that it wasn't their fault? Well that was bull.

Of course it was their fault! How couldn't it be…?

Were they just the strings? Was someone else the mastermind behind it? Or were they just playing her?

She really hoped it was the latter.

She picked up her cell phone and checked the screen. No missed calls or messages. Why couldn't the administration just call? The faster they get that warrant to open the mail Castle found in Alexis's bed, the closer they get to solving the case.

She started to play and etude, a practice on the piano, when she heard a light knock on the door. She slid the cover over the keys and walked up to her door, not bothering to grab her gun. She didn't even think of it, her mind was too distracted.

She unlocked the chain and opened the door, her mind somewhere else. But it quickly came back to reality when she saw whom it was.

"Castle? What- Why do have a bottle of beer?"

"It's not beer, it's wine."

"But that's a beer bottle…"

"So? It's called recycling."

"Right…"

"So, are you going to let me in?"

"Don't you have somewhere else to be?"

"Well, you see, I would go home, but… The loft. It just reminds me too much of Alexis."

"I don't mean to be shallow, but didn't you stay there the other night?"

"Actually I stayed at Ryan's and Honeymilk's. He kind of kicked me out this morning."

"And now you want to stay here?"

"If it's not too much trouble, yes."

Beckett pushed her hair back and leaned against the doorframe. The poor man's family had been kidnapped; could she really decline him a safe place to stay?

"Fine, you can stay the night."

"Great!"

She moved aside, letting Castle through. She did a swift check of the hallway and closed the door, locking the chain and turning the lock.

"So… I take it that it's the same sleeping arrangements as last time? Unless you've changed your mind…" He called over his shoulder. Right. The poor, poor man.

Beckett grabbed some spares blankets from a cupboard and threw them on the couch, walking away to her room. "Let me get you a pillow for the couch," she offered, picking one off of her bed. She tossed it at the couch from the bedroom door and entered the living room, only for a loud blare of keys to reach her ears.

She rushed over to the piano and plucked Castle's fingers off the keys just before she slammed down the lid.

"Don't. Ever. Touch. My. Piano. At least without asking me first!" She shouted, her ears on fire.

"Sorry Beckett, I just couldn't resist! Alexis has tried teaching me piano so I thought I would try it out!"

Beckett sighed and sat down next to him.

"Fine. Let's see what you've got." She opened the lid and gestured toward the keys. Castle smiled like a little kid and started poking at the keys, accompanying the pedal.

At first Beckett found it amusing, but her amusement quickly turned to annoyment as his poking got louder and louder.

"Castle!" She shouted, steering him off track. He looked at her with his most innocent expression. "Please. It's ten-thirty at night. Can you play _Pianissimo _instead of _Forte_?"

"I would if I had any idea what those words meant. Wait, but you know what they mean. Which means you know how to play piano!"

Beckett felt the annoyance slip away. She had tried to keep it a secret for so long! Why did she let him in again?

"And…?" She said carefully, looking him straight in the eye.

"You could play something for me! And teach me!"

"Probably not, but after we recover- I mean solve this case and have more time… I suppose I could give you some pointers."

"Yes! Could you play something for me?"

Beckett looked down at her wrist.

"Oh, look at the time! We'd better go to bed."

She closed the piano lid and walked off to her bedroom, putting her hair into a ponytail. She felt a tug on her shoulder and looked behind her, only to almost bang her nose into Castle's chest.

"Beckett, you aren't wearing a watch. Why don't you want to play something for me?"

It wasn't just that, she really needed time to think. Castle's pop in did take her mind away from its previous dilemma, but with him being here only made it worse to think about later. She wasn't ready to talk to Castle about it yet; she still needed time to figure it out.

"I'm just really tired, and I won't be any good if I'm burned out in the morning." She turned back to her bedroom but stopped when Castle spoke.

"You're lying."

_Damn_, she thought. Her fingers dug into her palm and she looked back at him, her eyebrow raised.

"Beckett, are you hiding something from me? Because you've been skirting around me all day."

Beckett didn't answer, only held her ground.

"Does it have something to do with the kidnapper call? You can tell me, whatever it is, I can handle it." He continued, searching her face for answers. She still didn't answer, only went back to her room. Castle let out a groan of frustration and followed her, closing her bedroom door behind his back.

"Damn it Beckett! What is going on?"

Beckett turned on her reading lamp and slipped underneath her bed covers.

"Please get out of my room." She said calmly. Castle walked over to the front of her bed and looked her square in the eye.

"Beckett, Kate, tell me what happened in that call. I deserve, no, I have a right to know what they said! Whatever you're keeping from me, you're keeping from the investigation. Do you really want me to tell Montgomery that you're hiding something from the precinct?"

Outraged at his threat, Beckett sat up and narrowed her eyes at him. "Do you think this is easy for me? Do you think I don't want to tell you? All day all I've wanted to do is blurt everything out! And I can't, you know why? Because lives are at stake!" She cut off as her phone vibrated, rattling off of her nightstand. Averting her eyes from Castle's, she picked up her phone and flipped it open, reading that she had a new text message from an unknown contact. She pressed OK and looked at the message.

'_You're saying too much. Take one more step, and you know the consequences._'

Beckett's eyes widened. What had she done? She slipped her phone under her pillow and looked out the window, settling down.

"Just get out of my room."

"What did they say?"

How did he know?

Beckett didn't answer. She bit at her lips, forcing them closed. He paced over to her face, getting down on his knees.

"May I see your phone?"

"No."

"Then I'll have to take it." He lurched at her pillow and grabbed her phone, running out of the room. Beckett yelled in panic and ran after him, grabbing his elbow and tripping over the doorframe. She fell to the floor with a thud, feeling Castle's weight fall on her as well. Out of the corner of her bleary eyes she saw Castle checking her messages and drafts. She realized that he would have no idea what the kidnappers were talking about, but then she mentally slapped herself. She had texted the kidnappers hint and saved it on her phone in drafts! She really, really, really, _REALLY _hoped he didn't-

"Beckett, what's this rhyme? And why is this labeled… Oh god. Why didn't you tell me they told you this?"

Her phone vibrated, startling Castle and causing him to drop the phone onto Beckett's chest. She shifted under him and crawled her fingers over to it, pressing the READ button.

'_537 Val Avenue. That's where she is. Unfortunately, you mistepped.'_

Beckett looked up at Castle, horrified. "Do you know what you just did?" She whispered to him.


	9. Price

**A/N: Castle belongs to its respective owners.**

Her lips were chapped. That's how it all started.

Her stupid lips were cracked and chapped, and they stung like hell. She had no idea how they had gotten chapped, one morning they were fine, and then at night they weren't.

Why had she forgotten her Blistex? Why had she left it in the bathroom when she was meeting Carter under the old Oak? God, why did her lips have to be so stupid?

And on top of it all, she still had to finish her chemistry project, which was due tomorrow!

Why had she listened to Jessica and went to that dorm party? It wasn't even exciting. All everyone did was drink and drink, which shouldn't have been allowed! Why would they have alcohol there? Stupid people and their stupid fake licenses. How was she going to finish her project now?

Alexis glanced down at her pencil and saw that there were chew marks on the end in frustration. She went back to her work and started to unconsciously bite her pencil, which caused her chapped lips to burn.

Looking down at her watch she saw that it was eight-thirty PM. She had to meet Carter in fifteen minutes. Hmm… Go see boyfriend, or work? Go see boyfriend, or work…

Normally, Alexis would have chosen work over anything, but this offer to quit her chemistry project was quite tempting…

No, she wasn't going to choose Carter over her project. She would see him tomorrow and explain why she couldn't come.

Her lips turned into a grim smile, which caused her lips to stretch and sting. That was it, she decided. She was going to get her Blistex from her bathroom.

Slipping her notes into her science textbook, she left the book on her chair and quietly left the library, darting down the halls to avoid getting pulled into a conversation. She unlocked her dorm door and went inside, happily not seeing anyone.

She tiptoed to the bathroom when she heard a grunt beside her. Maya, one of her roommates, was sleeping in her bed, her arm hanging off one side.

Alexis let out a sigh in relief and flashed into the bathroom, grabbing her lip cream off the counter and spilling it all over her lips. She wiped off the cream that reached her chin and cheeks and slipped the bottle into her pocket, quietly exiting the bathroom. She passed Maya and opened the door when she heard a yawn behind her.

"Alexis? What are you doing up?"

Alexis turned and saw Maya fumbling with her glasses, her dark skin blending into the sheets.

"It's only nine, Maya."

"Oh. Well, what're you doing?"

Shoot. This was what she wanted to avoid.

"I'm going to the library to finish my chemistry project."

"Oh, I'll come too! Hold on, let me change my pants…"

"Oh no, that's okay! I'm almost done and I'll come right back. Just get some sleep; we have that math test tomorrow."

"Oh, okay then. Well, good night!"

"Night, Maya."

Alexis closed the door behind her and sprinted down the hall, happy to get back to the library. She skidded down the halls and peered in the library, surprised to find someone else there. A man with greased black hair was looking through the catalog on the computer. His clothes matched his hair, and his sunglasses were also black. The man made her anxious.

She figured it was a teacher; a very strange teacher at that. Sucking in a breath, she pushed open the door and walked over to her seat, trying to stand very straight. She picked up her textbook and sat down on her chair, opening it.

The red book cover was slippery on her fingers and she rested it on the table, hoping the man wouldn't look at her. She started to scan her notes once more and felt the back of her hair tickle her neck. She turned and saw one of the windows was open, which confused her. It hadn't been open before.

The breeze did cool off her lips, which she was very grateful for. The medicine had just increased the pain.

Her notes labeled some books she would need information from. They were all checked off except for one. Unfortunately, she had no idea where it was, so she would have to go to the catalog, where the creepy man , she stood up and walked over to the computers, choosing one far away from the man. She signed in and started typing in the book title into the catalog, when the man coughed.

Reflexively, she turned to the man who was looking at her. He smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry, but, do you think you could help me? I can't insert the data into the catalog." The man said, his voice smooth and deep.

Alexis cautiously got up and went over to him, avoiding his gaze. She sat down next to him and looked at the computer, immediately detecting the problem.

"You have to have an account to access the catalog."

"Oh, my bad. I guess I am a little over the age limit to have a student account." The man gave a small chuckle, to which Alexis's chapped lips quirked up. This man wasn't so bad.

"Here, let me sign in for you." Alexis offered, going to the sign in page. She typed in her email and started typing in her username.

"Alexis? Is that your name? It's a beautiful name."

Alexis felt herself blush lightly. "Thank you."

"Does it have any significance?"

"Yes, it was my great-grand-mother's."

She finished typing in her name and started typing in her password. The man's head snapped up to her.

"Alexis Castle?"

"Yes, daughter of Richard Castle, the 'master of the macabre'. He wrote the Derrick Storm series?"

The man was silent. He then took out his phone and checked something. "And I liked you, too." The man muttered. Alexis's breath hitched in her throat and her stomach twisted.

"What do you mean? Do you not like my father?"

The man didn't answer. Instead, he stood up and walked to the library doors, barring them with a yardstick on a table. He then advanced toward her.

Alexis felt her muscles tighten. She knew she needed to run, but where to? Her cooled lips quickly solved the problem. She knew that to exit through the window, she would have to distract the man. Perhaps she could jump out the window and run for Carter. The very least she could hold the man off. They didn't call her Richard Castle's daughter for nothing.

"What do you want? Get away from me!" Alexis shouted at him, trying to inch her way to the back of the room where the window was.

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Alexis. You're in some deep trouble."

Alexis racked her brain for anything that would explain his reasoning. He kept coming closer and she kept backing away.

"What trouble?"

"Your dad's publisher has done something against me. And for that, she had to pay."

"Then why go after me? Why don't you go after her?" As soon as she said the words she wished she could take them back. She already knew his answer. They already did.

"We already have. And you're next." The man pushed a chair out of his way as he walked towards her, pulling something out of his pocket. Focusing her eyes, Alexis saw that a syringe was in his hand. She wanted to scream. This man was going to kill her.

Remembering her father's last words to her, she reached into her back jean pocket and pulled out a little red pocketknife. She pulled the blade out with her thumb and forefinger and struggled to remain stoic as the blade cut into her finger. She watched with fear as the man approached her, his body only a few feet away.

Once he was close enough, she unexpectedly tore off his sunglasses and clawed at his brown eyes with her knife. The knife missed his eyes and scratched the hollow of them, sliding down his cheek. He howled in pain and he knocked the knife out of her shaking hand. Stunned by her action, the man gave her a split second to run, which was all she needed.

She scrambled to the window and looked down, her hair sticking to her perspiring face. Luckily, the library was on the bottom floor. Stupidly, she turned to see how close the man was, which gained him more time. Seeing that he was just about to grab her, she slid backwards out the window, landing on her back. She jumped up and ran, her jacket flaring around.

"Carter!" She screamed, running blindly through the courtyard. "Carter! HELP!"

She continued running, the man right on her heels. She screamed for Carter and just mainly screamed, hoping to alert anyone. The old oak came in her sight and she saw a figure leaning against it. The moonlight shined on the boy and showed his short, brown hair and school uniform. Only about one hundred yards, and she would be safe.

"CARTER!" Alexis screeched at the top of her lungs, quickly losing her energy. To her horror, she saw the boy wearing his Ipod, and he turned away from her, walking inside. She screamed and yelled, but Carter was already inside the building.

Her heart pounded into her throat, her eyes threatening to spill tears. No one was outside except for her and the man.

She could scream no more; her voice was hoarse and her throat was sore. Shaking with pain, she sobbed with fear. A rock came in her path and she tripped over it, the rough grass skinning her elbows. She felt the man's weight on top of her as he pulled at her arms, forcing her to lie on her back. Letting one of her arms go, he grabbed the syringe and brought it to her neck.

She cringed as her eyes feasted on his face. Blood ran down his face from the gashes from her knife and dripped onto her face.

Alexis brought her fist up and punched him in the jaw, but felt the prick of the needle in her neck. The edges of her vision crept with black, and her mind shut down before another word could come out of her mouth.

* * *

She felt the binding rope rub against her skin before she even opened her eyes. She could feel the aching stretch of her arms as they hung tightly behind the chair. Her jaw was sore from screaming and her face shined as dried tears stuck to her flesh, and blood droplets were visible on her neck.

The prick from the needle still stung through her skin, making her neck ache even more. Her ankles were bound together, the bones adding pressure and the rope burning. Finding the strength to open one eye, she squinted into the darkness. The room was musty and humid. All was quiet, except for some cracked sobs that emitted from her. Slowly, what happened came back to her. Her stomach clenched at the danger she was in, but all she could think about was her father. He would find her. That she was sure of.

Behind her, she heard a door creak and something being thrust onto the floor. She hadn't the strength or the desire to find out what it was. She heard pants and moans and wished she could cover her ears.

A hand squeezed her shoulder, causing her to squeal from her throat. The pain that shot through her body was unbearable; she wanted to curl up into a ball and tighten the pain away.

She heard a man's rough voice beside her, but her ears would not strain out the words. All she could make out was that the man was unbinding her hands, and threw an arm over her shoulders. He helped her up and lugged her around the chair, dragging her through the room. Alexis kept her eyes closed but popped them open when she felt herself step on something other than the hard floor.

Looking down, she saw a frail woman on the floor. Her face was swollen and broken, and her blonde hair was hardened with blood. Alexis's stomach lurched at the sight, and looked away from the woman's eyes, iced with fear. She saw blood soaking her clothes and running down her legs. The woman dry heaved.

The man laughed at the woman and continued helping Alexis out the door. Alexis couldn't tell what, but that woman was really familiar… If only she wasn't covered in blood.

Leaving the dark room, Alexis knew this was her chance to run. But she knew she didn't have a sliver of luck on her side. Her shoulder was probably dislocated, and she could tell her ankle was sprained.

Besides, she couldn't leave that woman there. She knew that woman, somehow, and she wasn't just going to let these monsters torture an innocent woman.

But was she really innocent? Does she deserve what she's getting?

No, Alexis decided. No one deserved what that woman got. Alexis didn't exactly know what happened to her, but she really didn't want to find out.

The man grunted as Alexis fell to her side, giving him all her weight. He heaved her up and she bit her lip in pain as her shoulder shifted.

"You're really lucky, Alexis. I would have done worse if the boss hadn't ordered me ordered me not to." The man said. His voice vibrated in her ears. That voice. Alexis turned her head slowly and squinted up at the man.

It was the man from the library. The one who kidnapped her. The one who brought her pain. The one who did this to her!

Alexis growled in anger but held her rage down. She would never win this fight. She could only try when she knew she was ready.

"What do you want from me?" Alexis asked, keeping her voice steady.

"Oh, we want nothing from you. At least, I certainly don't. We have enough to go around."

"You monsters. You think that woman is 'enough' to go around?"

"Was for me. I got her first."

Alexis blocked the image of the broken woman out of her mind.

"You said I'm here because of something Gina did. What did she do?"

"I'm sure she'll tell you eventually. Just give her a little encouragement; she'll confess."

That's when it hit her. The blonde hair, the broken brown eyes. That woman was Gina!

"What could she have done to deserve what you vile men did to her?"

Alexis didn't care that she was insulting him. He wouldn't hurt her.

"I repeat: She'll tell you eventually."

She decided to change the subject. "Where are you taking me?"

"To the boss. Strict orders."

"Does this boss pay you?" Alexis asked, trying to hit a nerve.

"Not necessarily, but there's always a treat coming me way."

Alexis closed her eyes. Of course.

"You know what I think of you?" Alexis asked, her face scrunching up.

"What?"

"You're nothing. There's just nothing inside you. You don't feel anything. You don't think anything. You're just nothing. And you're filled with so much nothingness that you can't even acknowledge it."

"Well, I may feel nothing," The man said, keeping the anger from leaking into his voice, "But I know you can feel this."

His hand reached for her shoulder when a voice stopped him. "Stop, Marc, I don't want her energy to drain in pain right now."

Alexis looked up and saw a man looking down at her. His blue eyes were full of lightning, and his shoulder length blonde hair hung around his face.

He hooked an arm around her waist and told Marc to let go of her. He did, and wiped his hands on his jacket in disgust. He turned and walked back down the hall towards the room Alexis was in.

"Hey!" Alexis called to Marc, turning her head ever so slightly. He turned at her and cocked an eyebrow. "You leave Gina alone!"

Marc laughed and looked over at the boss. He nodded to him. "Do as she says. Gina has had a lot of excitement in the past few hours."

Marc nodded at the boss and walked away. The boss gripped Alexis tighter and helped her down the hall. A doorway came to their right and the boss walked her inside it, and set her down on a chair. Alexis was exhausted. But her anxiousness kept her awake.

"Do you know why you're here?" The man asked her, leaning against a table across from her.

"Apparently because of something my dad's publisher did."

"Would you like an explanation?"

Alexis figured it was no time for sarcasm. "Yes, I would."

"Well then, just keep wishing."

Alexis scowled at him why trying to keep her head up. She was afraid that whatever Marc had injected into her was affecting her again.

"I bet Kate and Rick will be finding my note soon. Then the clock starts."

"How long do they have?"

"As long as I decide to keep you alive."

"So… You could kill me right now?"

"No, I couldn't do that. That wouldn't be fair. Or fun."

"You don't think they'll find me?"

"Of course not."

At hearing this, Alexis somehow felt her energy build and she jumped up, her arms shaking.

"You're a fool if you think my dad and Detective Beckett aren't going to find me!" She shouted at him, her legs weakening. The man just simply laughed. Alexis sloped backwards and fell onto the chair, her eyes dropping.

Music suddenly started playing in the background. Alexis's ears perked as she recognized it. It was her ring tone.

"Look's as if they've found my note."

Walking over to her, he duct-taped her hands to the chair, and then put a strip over her mouth. She was so tired she couldn't even shake her head in protest.

He backed away from her and took her phone out of his pocket. He flipped it open.

"Hello Detective Beckett."

"_What have you done with Alexis?_"Alexis weakly struggled against the tape, screaming at him to give her the phone.

"She's fine for now, but if she hadn't given us such a fight she might've been better. Don't try to bargain with us, Detective, it won't work. All we want is the money."

"_Give me proof they're okay._"

"You'll get your proof when we get the money."

"_I'm afraid it won't work like that. If you really want that money you'll give us proof._"

"How about this: Give us the money once we direct you where and when, or they both die."

"_You wouldn't kill them, if they were dead you wouldn't receive the money._"

"True, very true. But I'm sure we can get more out of them if we don't get the money_._"

Alexis's eyes widened and screamed some more, only to feel the sting of the strectching duck tape against her skin.

"_Don't you dare touch them_."

"Too late, Detective. Much too late. But, if you really want proof, I suppose we can let you hear a taste of what can happen if you don't pay_._"

The man went over to Alexis and ripped the duct tape off of her mouth. Before a word could come out of her mouth he pulled down the sleeve on her shoulder and stuck his fingers on where her shoulder was dislocated. He pressed hard and squeezed, causing her to roar in pain.

"You… Sick…" Alexis wasn't able to finish her sentence. She started coughing and sputtering, the pain all of the sudden becoming dim.

The man let go of her shoulder to grab the duct tape. As quick as lightning, Alexis tried to scream a message into the phone, but the duct tape was upon her again. He put the phone to his ear and chuckled darkly.

"As I said, that was a taste. We will do far worse." The man chuckled darkly. "I'm going to go now, and don't call us back. Every time you call the pain gets worse. So be a good girl and wait for us to call."

He hung up and slipped the phone back into his pocket. Alexis felt the injection taking over her once again and she blacked out.

* * *

She opened her eyes drowsily. Her body lay crumpled on a cold, dark floor, the hardness of it pressing against her shoulder. She was able to breathe through her mouth, and her hands were free.

She slowly sat up, preparing for the blaring pain in her shoulder. But strangely, none came. Cautiously, she rolled her shoulder, and saw that it rolled just fine.

She realized that one of the men must have fixed it. How generous.

But it was helpful; she had a better chance of running.

She heard sniffles a few feet away from her. She crawled in that direction, whispering, "Gina? Is that you?"

There was a small crease of light that filtered in from the top of the room. It shined on a corner, allowing Alexis to see what was causing the crying. It was a little boy with short, brown hair, and big, Bambi green eyes.

"Mommy?" The boy sniffled, reaching out to Alexis.

"No," she said softly, "I'm a friend."

"You're a big meany man!" The boy cried, scrambling away from her. Alexis took a deep breath and smiled sweetly at him.

"No, I'm not a big meany man. I'm Lexi, your friend."

"…Lexi?" The boy asked, coming closer.

"Yes. I'm your buddy."

"Pinky promise?" The boy stuck his finger towards her. Slowly but surely, she reached her finger out and looped her pinky around his. He gave her a small smile and crawled over to her.

"What's your name?" Alexis asked, watching him.

"Me Colin!" The boy exclaimed, standing up and bounding over to her.

"How old are you?"

The boy raised up four fingers. "Three!"

Alexis smiled. "What are you doing here, Colin?"

"Big meany men!"

"The big meany men took you?"

"Big meany men!" Colin showed his bare arm toward her. It was red with grip rashes.

"I'm sorry, Colin. Come here, I promise to keep you safe."

"You keep big meany men away?"

"Yes. Pinky promise."

The boy sat on her lap, letting her stroke his hair. He nuzzled into her chest and started sniffling.

"It's okay, Colin. You can cry, I won't stop you."

Colin started bawling, crying about what the men did to him, how they hurt his mommy, how he'll never see his mommy again. Upon hearing this, Alexis thought of her dad and Gram. And also, she thought of Detective Beckett.

Quickly, the thoughts brought her to tears as well, and the two hugged each other and cried.

After a while, the tears had dried, and Colin fell into a light sleep, a few whimpers coming every now and then.

Alexis soothed him in his sleep, wishing someone could comfort her. But the same thought kept repeating in her mind: It's going to be okay.

Alexis's eyes had searched the room and came to the conclusion that they were the only people in there. She detected the door, but it was positively locked.

She eventually fell asleep. And then she woke up. It was the same cycle for days.

Alexis wasn't sure how much time had passed, but she figured it had been days. At least two.

When Colin was asleep, Alexis would search the room on her feet. She found a water bottle, but no food.

When Colin would wake, they would chat, mainly about Alexis. She would give him a little water, sometimes sacrificing a little of her own to rub onto his rashes.

Most of the time Alexis would try to teach him English. They would work for hours, and it was mildly entertaining. But Alexis didn't know what else she could do to pass time with a three year old.

She let Colin drink the last of the water, her throat completely dry. They talked less, for it drained what little energy Alexis had left. Colin would review his words with her, and she would just nod or shake her head at him.

Colin was lying against Alexis, trying to fall asleep. Alexis knew she didn't have much time left. Colin was quickly losing his will as well.

Just as Alexis thought that it was hopeless, and that she wouldn't make it out of there, she heard the door unlock.

Alert, she shooed Colin into a corner and faced the door, lying on her side. The door opened, allowing light to fill the room. A man came up to her and sat down next to her, handing her a bottle of water.

She rolled it into the shadows, hoping that Colin would get it.

"Come on, Alexis. The boss wants to see you." Marc picked her up and carried her out of the room.

Alexis didn't even notice when she was dropped into a chair and her hands were taped. All she wanted was water.

"Alexis?" Came a feminine voice. Alexis turned her head and saw Gina, also taped to a chair, sitting next to her.

"Gina," Alexis rasped, her breathing becoming uneven. She really needed water.

"Please, give her water. Can't you see what you've done to her? Look how pale she is!" Gina exclaimed, yelling at someone. Alexis was thankful for her words, but she couldn't concentrate.

Alexis noticed a dark figure coming towards her and felt a spout come up to her mouth. She opened her mouth and drank the water eagerly, her lightheadedness going under wraps.

She drank the whole bottle and leaned back, breathing heavily. She heard other voices in the background, and she quickly deciphered who they were. Beckett and dad!

"_Damn it Beckett! What is going on_?"

"_Please get out of my room_."

"_Beckett, Kate, tell me what happened in that call. I deserve, no, I have a right to know what they said! Whatever you're keeping from me, you're keeping from the investigation. Do you really want me to tell Montgomery that you're hiding something from the precinct_?"

"_Do you think this is easy for me? Do you think I don't want to tell you? All day all I've wanted to do is blurt everything out! And I can't, you know why? Because lives are at stake!_"

Alexis looked around the room and saw speakers around the room, playing their voices.

"Are you bugging them?" Alexis asked, watching the boss enter a text into his phone.

"Yes, Alexis. We are." The boss said.

Alexis heard Beckett gasp. She heard shuffling, and then silence.

"_Just get out of my room_."

"_What did they say_?"

"_May I see your phone_?"

"_No_."

"_Then I'll have to take it_."

Some running and grunts were heard, and then a big thump.

"_Beckett, what's this rhyme? And why is this labeled… Oh god. Why didn't you tell me they told you this_?"

"Damn it!" The boss yelled, slapping one of the speakers. He went up to the two girls and pulled a gun out from his belt. "Now I have to kill one of you.'

Alexis knew it would be her. She was leverage all along; they just wanted Gina. Why else would she be left alone in that room for days? Poor Colin; she hoped he was able to get home.

"Kill me!" Gina suddenly exclaimed. "Please, kill me. Alexis did nothing wrong! She's just a girl!"

"Shut up!" The man shouted, pointing his gun at her.

Alexis stayed silent; the gun paralyzed her.

"Thanks to Beckett, one of you has to pay the price of her actions. And since it can't be you…" He turned the gun and pulled the trigger.


	10. Pass

**A/N: Castle belongs to its respective owners.**

"_Beckett… Beckett…"_

_Beckett mumbled something inaudible as she rolled her head. Gosh, she was tired._

_All she could see was black. It was rippling like a heat wave._

"_Beckett… Kate…"_

_She groaned. Her view of blackness was fading. A face slowly emerged._

"_Alexis?" She asked, seeing the girl's strawberry blonde hair._

"_Kate… How could you?" Alexis whispered. Beckett cocked her head in confusion._

_Gina's face fizzled with Alexis's. _

"How could you?" She whispered in unison with Alexis. All these whispers stared filling her ears, but the only faces she could see was Gina and Alexis. Castle's figure suddenly popped into her vision.

"_I thought I could count on you," he told her, turning and walking back into the darkness. Beckett couldn't understand; what was everyone talking about?_

_Her mom's face took Castle's place next to Gina's. The other whispers subsided._

"_Kate…" Her mom said, her voice hauntingly matching the other two's._

"_Kate…" They all started, their faces looming closer, "Kate, how could you let us die?"_

"BECKETT! YOU'RE GOING TO KILL US!"

She snapped her eyes open and saw that her hands weren't on the wheel. Abruptly, she pounded on the pedal and sped through the pathway of cars. She and Castle were both breathing heavily, and she felt hot tears streaming down her cheeks. Pulling over, she hurriedly wiped them off with her sleeve and gasped for air, her hair sticking to her forehead.

"Jeez Beckett, ever thought of suicide lately?" Castle snapped, leaning against the side door.

The short dream scared her; the haunting voices kept repeating in her head. _Why did you let us die?  
_  
"I'm sorry, Castle. I must have dozed off."

"Dozed off? You're driving us to a crime scene and you 'dozed off'?'

"Look, I'm the one with blood on my hands. It's a little pressuring, okay?" Beckett hissed at him, starting the car back up.

"You really think they're dead?"

Castle's mood change didn't surprise her. The supposed murder of Gina or Alexis really shook him.

"Castle, I work homicide all day. The bodies aren't usually alive."

"Maybe this time they are!"

Beckett ignored his snark comment and got back on the road, the siren blaring.

"What's the address again?" She asked him, handing him her phone.

"537 Val Avenue_._"

"That should be coming up."

She grimaced inside, the pit in her stomach growing. She knew she should say something, but… What could she possible say?

"Castle, um, I just wanted to say that… I'm sorry. If I had kept my mouth shut, perhaps this wouldn't have happened." Well, that was one way to say it.

"No, it's mine. I shouldn't have provoked you and respected your wishes. All I know is that you're going to catch the bastard and I'm going to be there when you do."

Silently, Beckett doubted that. She knew that as soon as they found the body, Castle would go on a revengeful rampage. She couldn't have him on the case after that.

"I think we're here."

She turned into the warehouse parking lot. Castle handed her phone to her as she exited the car.

Esposito and Ryan exited a Vic behind her and unholstered their guns, nodding at her. She and Castle went up to the doors, Beckett pulling her gun out.

"Are you ready?"

"This isn't a time to wonder."

Thinking he had a point, she kicked the doors open, her leg searing with shock. Ignoring it, she ran inside and held her gun out in front of her.

Seeing that it was clear, she signaled to Ryan to take the left. He ran over, Castle following.

Esposito and a few others continued forward, and she took the right. All was eerily quiet except for her footsteps and erratic breathing. This was it.

She crouched down and placed her hands on the cement floor. She smelt deeply, and the stench of blood filled her nostrils. Eyebrows perched, she looked at the palm of her right hand. It was sticky and warm, which was strangely comforting to the chill going down her spine.

The red, rusty liquid traveled off her fingertips and dripped onto the floor. Her eyes followed the trail of blood, her heels becoming slick with it.

The blood trail slimmed, only a few drops visible. But then it quickly thickened out, the floor stained and brown.

Her breath caught in her throat as she heard weak breathing from behind a few crates. She shoved them aside and looked at the broken body.

The blood was soaked through her jeans, the bullet hole in her thigh gaping at her. Her eyes were closed, and Beckett could see the girl struggling to hold on to her lifeline. She had obviously been here a while.

She got on her hands and knees, crawling over to her. Beckett's hand found its way to her cheek, slowly stroking it. She rested her hands on her shoulders and lightly shook her.

"Alexis." She whispered to her, lightly cradling her head. "Alexis, it's okay, you're safe now."

Beckett hoped the words weren't a lie. "I'll be right back, stay here, okay? I'll be back with help." Alexis was able to give a light grunt, and then went back to concentrating on breathing.

Beckett stood up and wiped her hands on her leggings, regretting not having time to change. She came in sight of Esposito and signaled him to her. Once he reached her she stole a quick glance at Castle.

"I found Alexis, but she's not doing well. She's barely alive; she's lost a lot of blood. Where's the medics?"

"Lanie's all we got right now, but-"

"Well then go get her! And bring her back behind those crates."

He started to leave when she snagged his arm. "And don't get Castle; I don't want him to see this, in case…"

He nodded and ran out the doors. Beckett turned and went back behind the crates, sitting down next to Alexis.

"Oh, Alexis. What have they done to you?"

She saw bruises on her cheeks and black shadows under her eyes. Her face was dirty with blood and dirt, the remains of tears leaving white strokes. Alexis's orange hair was gnarly and tangled, but mostly hardened with blood. Her ankle was is in odd position; Beckett guessed it was twisted.

"Once you're better, you're going to tell me who did this, okay? We're going to catch the sons of…" She looked over at her. "The sons of B-I-T-C-H-E-S who did this."

Lanie and Esposito appeared. Both winced at Alexis's appearance. Lanie sat down next to her and examined the wound, shaking her head.

"She's lost so much blood. I don't know how she's hanging on." Lanie said quietly, opening her pack. "I don't know if it's possible for me to help her."

"Lanie, please." Beckett's voice broke. "You have to do this."

A silent understanding went between the two. Lanie took out some supplies and lightly soaked up the blood around the wound. Looking closely at the wound, she was able to make out where the bullet was. She slowly dug in, swearing when Alexis fidgeted in pain and fear.

"Talk to her, she's scared out of her mind right now. This is going to hurt." Lanie said, motioning to the bullet hole.

Beckett smoothed down Alexis's hair and forced a smile.

"Don't talk, Alexis. This is going to hurt very much, but once it is over you will never feel this pain again. I promise." She held Alexis's hand. "When you feel the pain, squeeze my hand. Squeeze it as hard as you need to."

Lanie sucked in a breath. She braced herself for the screams when she noticed Esposito's breathing beside her. In annoyance, she looked at him.

"What are you doing? Go call an ambulance! Don't just sit there!" She shouted at him. He flinched, then got up and left, muttering about being a 'messenger'.

The word 'dad' floated off Alexis's lips before she screeched in pain. It was worse than being shot; all she had felt was shock. Now all she could feel was the metal in her skin.

Beckett shushed her, and she gritted her teeth, clamping Beckett's hand under her own. Her eyelids dropped, but not before she saw her father come up to her.

"Alexis?" He asked her, dropping down next to her. She didn't open her eyes, but she was still breathing. "I'll kill them," he muttered under his breath.

"She can't answer; just keep talking." Beckett told him, stroking her hand with her thumb. Castle sat on Alexis's other side, holding her hand.

They both looked away as Lanie was able to finally take the bullet out. Just as she put the bullet in a bag the ambulance sirens were heard, and the medics came in and took Alexis, allowing Castle to sit in the back with her.

As Beckett watched them drive away, Ryan walked up to her.

"We found this," Ryan gave her a note with her name addressed on it.

Sighing, she unfolded it and read its contents.

_Kate,_

_By the time you get this, we'll be gone and Alexis will be dead. Sorry about that, just a little something to keep you on your toes. The rules still stand, even though Castle knows. _

"Well, that's pleasant." She muttered, handing the note to Ryan.

"It's late. You going home?" He asked her. She shook her head.

"No, I'm going to the hospital to check on Alexis."

* * *

She smiled at him reassuringly as she sat down next to him. His face was wrinkled with worry, but relief as well.

"How are you holding up?" She asked him. He turned to her and smiled.

"I'm okay. Thanks to Lanie, the bullet was taken out. She did lose a lot of blood, but it was the bullet that was doing the damage. It fractured her femur, so she won't be walking for a while. But it barely missed her femoral artery; otherwise she would have died in a few minutes."

"Why did he let her live?" Beckett wondered.

"He was probably in a hurry. He didn't expect me to 'break the rules'. He shot at her artery, but barely missed. Thank the gods for that."

Beckett nodded, leaning back. She remembered when she had the mobster case with Castle, and Will was shot. The bullet barely missed his heart. She recalled the encouraging words Castle gave her, and wished she could give him some, too. But the only words on her mind were ones she did not want to say.

"Castle, I don't want to, but I have to ask this question. In the kidnappers 'hint', they told me to ask you something."

"Go on."

"Castle… Are you a fighter?" She asked timidly, feeling her cheeks redden with stupidity. The words sounded so dumb coming from her mouth.

He looked over to her, his eyebrows creased. Then, they slowly went back into their position as realization dawned on him.

"I've never told anyone this, not even Alexis. But I think this might be what they're talking about."

Beckett saw the nervous darkening in his eyes, and wondered what could possibly make him so clammy.

"A little while, before Gina and I started dating, I was at a party. It was a high-end club, mainly for, well, you know. Anyway, I met this girl. We laughed, we talked, and we had a good time. But then she started drinking, and provoking me to do so as well. I was trying to stay away from alcohol for the night, but she finally convinced me. We got into some drinking contest, and well, she won." He said sheepishly, but then became serious again. "We spent the night together, and when I woke up, she was gone. It wasn't like a fling or anything, but I never even learned her name."

The door to Alexis's room opened and a doctor stuck her head out.

"You can come in now. She's tired, so she won't talk much, but she's been asking for you." She motioned at Castle. He and Beckett stood up.

"Would you like to…" Castle offered Beckett. The doctor shook her head.

"Sorry, only one visitor at a time."

"That's okay, Castle, I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah, see you."

* * *

A week later, Alexis was let out. Beckett was glad, but the happiness was swallowed by frustration. She hadn't made any progress on the case, and she hadn't been able to contact Castle. He never came in; he was always at Alexis's side.

Whenever the elevator doors opened, her head would snap up, but it was never him. She really wished he would come, just so he could finish the story he was telling her. Eventually, her wishes were answered, but not in the way she expected.

"Beckett? Can you come in here for a second?" Montgomery asked her, walking back into his office. Reluctantly, she gave one last glance at the elevator and followed him.

"I hear Alexis is back home."

"Yes, sir."

"Well, now that she is, I want protection on the loft. Outside, and inside."

"Of course, sir. I'll go talk to Officer Maxwell. Is that all?"

"No. Alexis was just kidnapped, beaten, shot, and lord knows what else. She's in a state of shock; she needs to be protected by someone she trusts."

"What do you suggest? Sir?" She added quickly.

"I want you to organize the outside unit. And then I want you on the inside."

"You want me to stay inside Castle's loft. With Alexis? And him? Sir-"

"Don't question me Beckett, that was an order."

Grudgingly, she nodded and left. Why did these situations always happen to her?

Spotting Stegner, she went up to her and rattled off the officers for the watch. Once Stegner went out on her order, she drove home and packed her things.

* * *

Sucking in a breath, she gave three light knocks on the door. She straightened her posture and smoothed down her hair.

The door opened, but no one was there to greet her. Carefully, she started to lean forward when a sword came out of nowhere and almost scratched her face, sending her tumbling back.

The sword lowered and Castle stepped into view.

"Oh, hey there Beckett. Sorry, Alexis and I were fencing."

She gave him an incredulous look. "How is she fencing?"

"Come inside and see."

She walked inside and saw Alexis in a wheel chair, her leg bandaged up. Her face was sweaty from swordplay, and in her right hand was a fencing sword. She had on a grin.

"Wow, Alexis. Before you know it you'll be back up on your feet!" Beckett complimented, smiling.

Alexis nodded, her cheeky smile gone. Her aura went dark, and she looked down, wheeling away.

"She's still very uncomfortable, and scared. I'm the only one she trusts." Castle admitted, closing the door. He raised his eyebrow at her. "What brings you here, Detective?"

"We've secured the perimeter incase of an attack. I've been ordered to secure the inside."

"Well, I'm sure I could defend us with my 'vast arsenal of rapier wit', but great! Here let me take your bag, Alexis and I are about to make sundaes!"

He took her bag and started up the stairs when the phone rang. "Could you get that?" He called down at her.

Feeling uncomfortable answering Castle's phone for some reason, she slowly made her way, hoping the machine would get it. Alas, no cigar.

"Hello?" She asked, twirling a lock of her hair around her finger. The reply sent shivers down her spine.

"_She's supposed to be dead. She had no will to live. How is she alive_?"

"Maybe she's stronger than you thought." She spat.

"_I guess so. But no matter, we still have Gina. Remember, the rules still stand_." He hung up.

"Oh, I haven't forgotten." She muttered, placing the phone on its charger. She heard Castle practically run down the stairs.

"Who was it?"

"Oh, just a telemarketer." She lied.

"Oh. Well before we make sundaes, would you like me to tell you the rest of the story?"

"Okay." She answered nonchalantly. But on the inside she was screaming. Finally, something to do with the case!

They sat down on the couch and faced each other.

"Okay, where was I? Oh right, I woke up and she was gone. So a year later, after I married Gina, a woman came to my doorstep, a baby boy in her hands. The woman was the one from the party. She said her name was Georgia, and that the boy in her hands was mine. Of course, I didn't believe her, but she insisted. When she found out I was married to Gina, she broke. She was very angry."

Alexis had wheeled over to them and was listening intently. Beckett tried not to acknowledge that she was swaying away from her.

"She said she was sure that Colin-that was her son-was mine. After some tests, it was verified that he wasn't my son. She still wanted me to raise him, but I couldn't. I was married to another woman, what could I do?"

"Did the boy have brown hair?" Alexis asked quietly. The two looked at her in surprise.

"Um... Yeah, I think so, actually. His hair was light brown, and he had these huge green eyes."

Alexis looked at him, her eyes wide. "Dad, I know that boy."


	11. Bribe

**A/N: Castle belongs to its respective owners. The premiere's tomorrow!**

"Before we discuss the little boy Colin, I have a question. How does this have anything to do with being a 'fighter'?" Beckett asked, her eyebrows raised.

"I didn't say? The woman, Georgia, she kept asking, or should I say, demanding, that I fight for her. That I stayed. She kept telling me to be a fighter. That was the only time anyone was called or told me that."

"So what happened to her?" Alexis asked.

"She finally gave up. She took her son and left. I never thought or heard of her again."

Beckett turned to Alexis slowly, not wanting to startle her. "So, Alexis." She started softly, seeing Alexis tense up. "How do you know Colin?"

Alexis opened her mouth to start, but then she shut it, as if deciding how to say it. She closed her eyes and pictured what had happened. Instead of thinking of Colin, she instantly saw the men, how they grabbed her and hurt her, and how they laughed and spit at her. How they squeezed her shoulder, and how they just chuckled about it. She almost gagged when she felt the numbness of not having enough water. She felt the fear when the gun suddenly pointed at her and went off. How they told Gina she was next and dragged her off, leaving Alexis bleeding on the floor.

She wanted to tell them everything. Everything that happened, everything that they did to her, everything she thought, and how she figured she was going to die. She wanted to tell them how death had had her in his grasp twice, but both times she had painfully survived.

They looked at her expectantly, and then she did something neither of them had seen her do in a long time. She cried.

She cried in fear, in pain, in pleasure. She was home, but they would leave a mark on her forever.

Her dad instantly came to her aid, but Beckett just sat there, looking away. She sent silent thanks. All she wanted was her father's safe embrace.

"We can talk about it in the morning." Beckett offered, standing up. Alexis sniffled and nodded, then pushed herself away from her father. He picked her up and carried her up the stairs, silently letting her pull herself together.

Tucking her in, her kissed her forehead and gave her a light hug before he left the room. Once she was sure he was gone, she turned over, ignoring her thigh and buried her face into her pillow, crying, and having no desire to stop.

* * *

"Is she okay?" Beckett asked, feeling foolish for asking.

"She was crying as soon as I left. It's just not like her; she rarely cries." Castle replied, sitting down next from her on the couch.

"She's in a lot of emotional pain, it'll take her a long time to get over it, if not never."

"Speaking of pain," his voice suddenly went bitter, "Why didn't you get me when you found Alexis?"

"Oh, about that…" Beckett bit her lip, hard, in frustration. She had done it for good reason! But she knew Castle wouldn't see it that way.

"Well?"

"When I found Alexis, I was afraid she was going to die, so-"

"So?"

"Stop interrupting me and I'll tell you!" She snapped. "_So_, I didn't want you to see you're daughter die. I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to feel even more pain if she died without you watching her."

"How foolish are you? I would much rather have my daughter with me as she dies then not!"

"Well I just thought-"

"No, that's the thing. You didn't think! You just acted!"

"I was only trying to save you pain! I was trying to be considerate!"

"I bet that because you didn't get to see your mother die that I don't deserve to be with Alexis when she dies!"

Beckett stood up and raised her hands in the air. "That's not it at all! What kind of explanation is that?"

"A reasonable one!"

Castle stood up as well and the two had a glaring contest, till Beckett broke it off and crossed her arms.

"Goodnight, Castle."

She turned around and walked up the stairs to the guest bedroom. Castle had no idea how she knew where it was, but he was too angry to think.

He looked up and she thumped back down the stairs.

"What, come to make some more considerations?"

"No, I forgot to tell you: You're off the case." She then started going back up the stairs, but Castle grabbed her elbow and turned her around.

"I'm connected to this case! I have to be on it!"

"You don't 'have' to be on it, you wanted to be on it! And you forced me to go on with you! You may have the authority to get on the case, but I have the right to kick you off!"

"I need to be on this case! Those men took my daughter!"

"Which proves my point. You're obviously too emotionally unstable."

"If you take me off, one phone call to the mayor will put me back on."

"Well then go right ahead! I'll just take you off again, and then we'll get nowhere!"

"We'll get nowhere if you kick me off!"

"Well then don't come back on! Now let go of me!"

He realized that he was still gripping her arm, and quickly let go, watching her instinctively cover the blooming bruise.

Without another word, she practically ran back up the stairs and into the guestroom, closing the door behind her. She started changing into a different shirt when a knock came at the door.

She pulled the shirt over her head and opened the door, expecting it to be Castle. She was most surprised when she saw that it wasn't.

"Alexis? How did you get over here? You need your wheelchair."

"I don't need some chair to walk two yards," she hissed, grabbing at the wall. Beckett tried to help her but Alexis shrugged her off. Beckett closed the door and Alexis leaned against it, going straight to the point.

"I don't appreciate you yelling at my dad."

"You heard that?"

"Please, I'm sure that all of New York could hear you. Now listen. I'm a witness of the kidnappers, so I could be of some use to you."

"Yes, Alexis, you could be very helpful to this case."

"Well here's the thing. You're not getting any information unless my dad is back on this case."

"But Alexis, don't you want to find Gina?"

"Of course I do. But I want my dad to find her, not just you. If you put him back on the case, I'll give you the information you want."

"Are you bribing me?"

"If you want the information you'll put my dad back on." Ignoring Beckett's replying, she opened the door and left, clawing at the wall.

Beckett sat there, open-mouthed. She had no idea Alexis had it in her. God, if Alexis had anything relevant to this case, she needed to know. But then she had to put Castle on.

Putting it off for the morning, she crawled under the covers and went to sleep.

* * *

As she fixed her hair, she came to a decision. She walked down the stairs and saw Alexis eating eggs, Castle cooking. Alexis turned to her and raised an eyebrow, as if taunting her.

She sat down a few seats away from Alexis and faced Castle, although he as anything but facing her. Clearing her throat, she leaned forward on her elbows.

"Castle, um, I… I want you back on the case."

"What was that? You want something? Because the last time you wanted something for me it didn't go well."

"I need you on the case."

"And why is that?" Beckett felt Alexis's eyes on the side of her face.

"I need you on the case because you are a good asset to the team and you are personally connected." She said through her teeth, gritting them.

He made eye contact with her and smiled. "Okay, then."

Beckett eyed Alexis, telling her silently to keep her end of the deal. Alexis leaned back and thought of Colin again.

"When I was… Kidnapped, there was a little boy. I was forced into a room with him. His name was Colin and he fit your description. He said the men took him away from his mom. I don't know what happened to him after I was… Shot." She strangled out.

"Georgia's boy was with them." Castle said. He then looked at Beckett. "What do you think?"

"I'm not sure, but maybe he was there because Georgia was. Maybe Georgia…" Beckett's head snapped up suddenly. "Georgia was hurt and jealous because of Gina. She wanted to be with you but Gina took her place! That would be a good motive to kidnap."

"But then why would she capture Alexis?"

"Georgia wanted to raise her son with you, but you had a daughter that wasn't hers. That's another jealous motive."

"But then what about Colin?" Alexis asked.

"Maybe he lied to you. Maybe he was there to make it more convincing that it wasn't her!"

"No, Colin was hurt and scared." Alexis protested.

"That would take the suspicion off of her. And if I remember correctly, she went to great lengths to get what she wanted." Castle said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"But there was no woman there besides Gina and me. The kidnappers were only men."

"She wouldn't show herself, so she had men do it for her. Castle, this fits. The clues, the boy, Gina, everything!" Beckett exclaimed, standing up.

Castle was about to say something but then held a finger up. "Hold that thought." He then ran out of the kitchen and into the bathroom.

Alexis's gaze shifted over to Beckett. "I'm sorry I bribed you, I just wanted my dad back on the case." She mumbled.

Beckett felt the thick wall between them thin. "I understand your intentions, Alexis."

Castle came back into the room with a phonebook. "Georgia's address could be in here."

"What's her last name?"

"Hancock, I think." He started flipping through the book. "Habber… Hafero…. I can't even pronounce that… Here! G. Hancock. This should be her address."

Beckett started for the door with Castle but stopped. "Wait, what about Alexis? She can't be alone."

Castle glanced down at his watch. "I don't think that will be a problem."

Before she could even ask what he meant, the loft door swung open and Martha ran inside, her purse slipping off her arm. She hugged Alexis as they squealed.

She then turned around and smiled once more. "Kate! How nice of you to be here!"

"I'd love to chat Martha, but Castle and I have to go!" Together they both dashed out the door, Castle sending a quick salute.

* * *

Castle shook with nerves as Beckett knocked on the door. He had hoped to never see her again.

The door swung open, and a woman's profile was shown. From her black hair to her shock, freckled face, from her tight shirt to bell-bottom jeans, he recognized every bit of her.

The woman narrowed her eyes. "Rick… No, it can't be. Richard Castle?"

"The one and only," Castle nervously chuckled. Beckett unhooked her badge and brought it up.

"Detective Kate Beckett, NYPD. May we ask you a couple of questions?"

The woman seemed to shrink in fear from Beckett's badge, but slowly nodded and let them inside. She offered them a seat on her couch and sat down on an adjacent couch.

"So, what is this about?" She asked nervously.

"Ms. Hancock, almost two weeks ago two women were kidnapped. One was a high schooler, the other was her ex-step mom. The high schooler was recovered, but the mom is still missing." She then stood up and walked around. "Do you have any children, Ms. Hancock?"

"Yes, my little boy, Colin." She looked over at Castle, who avoided her gaze. "He's three."

"Can you describe him?"

The woman handed her a picture of the boy. He had short, brown hair with watery green eyes, which Beckett wanted to awe at. But that wasn't the case here.

"Ms. Hancock, if anything happened to your son, would you call the police?"

She looked taken back. "Why, of course."

Beckett sat back down and leaned forward. "Has anything happened to Colin?"

Georgia bit her lip and looked down, but then quickly looked back up. "No, my little Colin is fine. He's at a friend's right now, actually."

"Ms. Hancock, a witness told me that a little boy was where the kidnapper's were. He had brown hair, green eyes, and his name was Colin. I have no doubt in my mind that it was your son."

Beckett then relaxed and went in for the kill. "Ms. Hancock, are you responsible for these kidnappings?"

To her surprise, two tears went down the woman's cheeks. She wiped them away, but more kept coming. She looked confused through her tears, but her face was set in defeat.

"Yes, it was me. I'm responsible."


	12. Truth

**A/N: Castle belongs to its respective owners.**

"This isn't right."

Beckett looked up at him from under her eyebrows. She gave him a 'duh' look.

"Yeah, Castle, I kind of got that from the whole suspect not talking situation."

"No need to be snippy, I'm just pointing it out."

Beckett groaned and dropped her head back into her arms. This was hopeless.

"She didn't say anything at all?" He asked her. She picked up her mug and took a sip of coffee, then set it back on her desk.

"I asked her every question possible, but she wouldn't answer. She would only say that she was responsible. Not that she kidnapped them, that she was responsible. And the rest of the time she sat there, silent tears running down her cheeks."

Castle sighed. "You know-"

"No, Castle. I don't want you talking to her."

"But I'm sure I could get through to her!"

"And how would you do that if a trained, experienced detective couldn't?"

"First off, the trained, experienced detective doesn't know her personally. The roguishly handsome writer does."

"And if that doesn't work, then what will the egotistical, annoying writer do next?"

"He will… Hey! I'm not egotistical."

Beckett slumped in her seat and yawned. "This can't get any worse."

Her phone rang, and she flipped it open before Castle could even get the ring through his system.

"Beckett. Any information?"

Castle watched her as her eyes grew large in excitement, but then they slowly went thinner, and he was afraid she would crush the phone.

"Thank you, Ryan. I'll call you if I need you to tell me anything else that cuts off all our leads!" She hung up and almost threw her coffee mug off her desk, but she quickly stopped herself. No, she couldn't sacrifice the coffee. Never. "The world just loves proving me wrong, doesn't it?"

"What did he say?" Castle asked timidly. She sighed.

"Mandriks, Carter and Jessica all alibi out. And that mail you found? It was a letter from you. Real nice detective work there."

Castle refrained from glaring out her. "You know what Beckett? It's been a long day, why don't you go home and hang out with Alexis and Martha? Have a girl's night." He suggested in an overly sweet voice.

"Please, like I could. I'm getting more coffee. Want some?" She asked him, the break room coming closer with every thought.

"Actually, yeah, I would." Beckett got up and almost ran to the break room. He made sure she was tucked nice and neat in there, then jumped out of his chair and ran down to holding.

Coming out of the break room, she plopped down at her seat and handed the coffee cup to the imaginary person next to her.

"Castle?" She asked aloud, looking around. Seeing that he was gone, she poured his coffee into her cup and took a nice, long sip.

* * *

She slumped away from the sound of the opening door, her black hair falling into her eyes. Her green eyes were laced and pink with tears. Crawling away from the footsteps, she looked over at the men in her cell. She shouldn't be here with those monsters. No, she shouldn't be here at all.

"Georgia." Castle whispered as he crouched down, holding onto the bars. She looked up at him and stood up, walking towards him.

"Georgia, I know this isn't right. I don't know why you're here, but you're not here for kidnapping."

She gave a weak laugh. "Why would I turn myself in if I didn't do it?"

"Because you have reason to turn yourself in. You're smart, Georgia. You wouldn't lead us to you so easily. You can trust me; just tell me what's going on."

She leaned against the bars. "You won't get anything out of me. Why don't you go back home to your cop girlfriend?" She sneered at him, more tears falling.

Castle decided to take a new direction.

"Did you ever find out who Colin's father was?"

She looked away. "Yes, I did. I found him, and he stayed with me. But it was a mistake. It was all a mistake."

"You didn't love him."

Her lip quivered and she gazed at him. "How could I? I loved you, and I wanted you to be the father! But you wouldn't even try."

"I had a wife and daughter! And Colin wasn't mine!"

A light sob racked through her. "Even after I found Shawn, I still loved you. And he could tell."

"Does he look like Colin?" He asked softly. She shook her head.

"No, he's blonde with blue eyes. Colin has my looks." She curled a lock of her hair around her finger. "I used to be a brunette before I dyed my hair black."

"Where is Shawn now?"

She almost rolled her eyes. "Why should I care? All I know is that he hangs out at the Fat Black Pussycat every Thursday evening." Her eyes snapped to his. "I shouldn't have told you that."

"Why not?"

She didn't answer. Tired of waiting, he stood up.

"I'm going to tell Detective Beckett what you just told me. Perhaps she can figure something else."

Alarmed, she tried to grab at him through the bars. "No, don't do that! Don't tell her I said anything."

"Tell me why your husband's hangout is relevant, and maybe I won't."

"I'm sorry, Rick. I can't tell you."

"Are you scared? Do you want protection? I can get you protection, all you have to do is tell me."

"I don't need protection, my son does!"

He took a step back. "Where is your son now?"

She took a deep breath. "He's with my husband."

"Did he kidnap him?"

She was silent, but not for long. She fell to the floor, sobbing. "He hated you. He hated how much I talked about you. He was jealous of you, and he wanted to get you back. I heard him plotting… Oh Rick, he took my little Colin!"

Castle tried to stay calm. "And Alexis and Gina?"

"He was jealous because I wanted to be a part of your family. He… He took them too."

"And he hangs out at the Fat Black Pussycat every Thursday?"

"…Yes… That's where I met him about the kidnapping."

"You're sure?"

"You think I wouldn't be sure?"

Castle wanted to hug her, but through bars that would be a little hard. "Thank you, Georgia. I promise I'll get your son back."

He turned and started walking out of the room, when Georgia called to him.

"Where are you going now?"

Without stopping, he answered, "I'm going upstairs, and then I'm going to catch the man who shot my daughter."

* * *

"How did you get her to talk?" Beckett asked, astounded. He waved her question off.

"That doesn't matter. What matters is catching Shawn."

Esposito and Ryan both raised their eyebrows at him. "And how are we going to do that?" Ryan asked him.

"Well, tonight, Shawn should be at the Fat Black Pussycat, since it's a Thursday. They're having a special entertainment night tonight. I was thinking maybe I could get us in and then catch him."

"No, that'll scare them off. They've been one step ahead of us the whole way. We have to go undercover, so they won't know it's us." Beckett countered.

"How're we going to go undercover then?" Esposito asked. Beckett shrugged.

"I have an idea." Castle said. The three looked at him. "It's entertainment night, right?" They nodded. "Well, one of us will just have to entertain."

The boys all looked to Beckett. Going on the defense, she raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"So, Beckett. Has Basic Piano for Dummies paid off?" Esposito asked her. The three boys grinned.

"Oh, no. I'm not going to…" She started, backing away.

"But Beckett! This may be our only chance!" Castle whined. He then smiled slyly. "Besides, it's dress-up night."

"The captain will never allow it. I'll prove it. He'll say no." She then marched into his office.

"The captain will let her off," Ryan bet.

"Please, knowing the Cap, he'll think this is a great idea." Esposito challenged.

"Sorry, Ryan, but I have to agree with Esposito."

The three bet fifty bucks on it. Not even two minutes later, Beckett came storming out.

"I can't believe he said yes! This is crazy!" She ranted, not noticing Ryan's cursing.

"So it's settled then. Tonight Beckett and I will go to the FBP."

"Hey, what about us?" Ryan asked. Beckett narrowed her eyes.

"What about you?"

Esposito gave him a look to shut up, and then whispered, "Pictures," to Castle. He nodded enthusiastically.

"I'm going to see Lanie." Beckett said quickly, rushing to the elevator. Castle grinned.

"This is going to be fun."


	13. Temptation

**Castle belongs to its respective owners. Sorry for the long wait!**

Castle smirked at Beckett's fidgeting. Her make-up slathered face, which looked super hot to Castle, was slowly reddening from nerves. Every few seconds he would have to nudge her to stop her from biting her lip, or else she would get that ruby red lipstick on her white teeth. That shade did look familiar… Castle pondered about his Beckett Dominatrix theory.

"Remember, his full name is Shawn Sherman-which is an excellent alliteration-and he's blonde with blue eyes. His hair goes down to his shoulders. Alexis verified that there was a man who fit that description, and that he probably won't be alone." Castle informed her, hoping to distract her from her nerves.

"Castle, I'm the one who should be telling you that. While I…perform…you'll have to survey the crowd. If you see him, stay away from him and send a text to Esposito. But do it _carefully_, _secretively_, and _quietly_. Got it?"

"Okay, no need to emphasize. Oh, by the way, I like your dress."

Beckett instinctively smoothed the tight, knee-length pearl white dress that hugged her. It was the most decent dress out of Lanie's choices.

"Thank you, Castle."

"I like your hair and make up too."

"Um, tha-"

"By the way, is that a new shade? It looks really familiar to me-"

"Castle."

"Yes?"

"Shut up."

"Fine. But stop smoothing your dress, your only wrinkling it." Alarmed, she looked down, but then glared at Castle.

"Made you look."

Beckett craned her neck to see the next performer end her dance. She wanted to wrap herself into the backstage curtain. Or even better, pull out her gun and threaten anyone who tries to force her onstage. That's actually not a bad idea…

"I'm next… What if I mess up? I'll blow my cover and we'll lose the guy and I'll ruin the investigation and this might be our only chance and-"

"Beckett! Calm down, okay? You're going to do fine. Just remember to play the right notes, and sing the right lyrics, because performers don't usually mess up, but since you're not a performer…"

"Castle! You're not helping. Just… Just try to find him, okay? And don't you dare cheer me on."

She sent a message to her feet to move as soon as the dance performer passed her backstage, but they wouldn't move. She told herself that she had gone undercover hundreds of times… She had just never sang and play the piano before…

"Wait, what if they recognize you?"

Beckett turned her head and raised an eyebrow, her mascara and eyeliner covered eyes widening.

"Don't worry, Castle. I'm a master of disguise." She said, her voice a thick French accent. Castle took a step back in surprise.

"Wow, that's hot."

Rolling her eyes, she ignored the pit in her stomach and stepped into the bright lights, hearing the announcer say her fake name.

"Now, our last performer of the night, please welcome Kamilia Beaumont!" Quickly lowering her hand from pushing a curl out of her eyes, she walked over to the piano bench and sat down, her hands clammy. She wiped them on her dress and placed them on the keys, the procedure running through her mind. '_No_,' she thought, '_Focus on the song. Focus on the piece. All that matters right now is your voice and the keys._'

She felt her heart beat faster, and heavier. '_You'd better spot him quickly, Castle, or I'll be damned._'

Realizing the crowd was waiting, she began with the left, which was quickly accompanied with the melody from the right.

She opened her mouth, and to her surprise, the words just came out, smooth, and not jagged as she imagined them to be.

"_I see the sadness in your eyes is more than you let on  
They ask where love is gone  
Was it some magic or a twist, a spell that crossed the stars _

_Whatever happened here we are_

_I gave up hoping oh, so long ago, I can't remember even when  
But I wonder could this be the one who'll make me live again_"

Castle tugged on his tie as he looked around the sea of faces, all of them staring at Beckett. Or Kamilia Beaumont, as her undercover name was.

"_To love and lose and love again, like seasons come and go  
It's what odds are made for, it's all we need to know_"

There was a blonde… No, he had brown eyes. There was another blonde… No, his hair was too short. Wait, maybe that was him! Oh wait, never mind, it was a girl._  
_

"_What makes you put up all you've got  
To gamble with your heart  
To lose and try again  
Lady luck might have a day  
No matter how it spins  
The house always wins  
To lie with you under a hundred moons, memories that time could not erase  
I'd give it all to feel the sun again, I'll let it warm my face  
I should not fear the end of love or worry about what's past  
The secret is to live each day as if it were the last_"

Wait a second… He had blue eyes, his blonde hair was shoulder-length… And he wasn't alone.

There was no one else that fit the description. It had to be him.

Castle sent a quick text to Esposito, but as Beckett was nearing the end of her song, the man, or most likely Shawn, stood up. He started weaving through the crowd, to Castle's terror.

No. This man was going to get away. He was going to get away with kidnapping and attempted murder. No.

They're not going to make it. Only Castle was close enough, but he wasn't supposed to go near him…

That man shot his daughter. He almost killed her.

Those thoughts suddenly sent anger surging through Castle. This man was not going to get away.

"_To love and lose and love again, as sure as planets turn  
Our faith in love, that's everything,  
To lose and love only to lose again  
It isn't bad if you believe that now and always you'll stay in my heart  
Mon chere, I could never leave, no I will never leave  
I will never leave you_"

As soon as she played the ending note, and everyone started clapping, Castle went for it. He ran over to the man and tackled him, hearing gasps all around him. Landing on top, he started to beat the man's face furiously.

"You…son…of…a..." Castle panted, his face red.

He felt light arms pull him off of the man, and Beckett took Castle's place. She took out her cuffs from…somewhere…and was about to handcuff the man when Castle unexpectedly knocked her out of the way. She yelped in surprise and felt arms grab at her forearms, dragging her away from Castle. The dress refrained her legs from kicking wildly, and before she could come up with something, a hand compacted her neck. The lights and running people blurred together. Her stomach lurched at the feeling of not being able to swallow air, and that was last thing she focused on before someone's foot kicked her head.

Castle jumped on the man again and grabbed him by his jacket.

"Where's Gina? What did you do to her?" He screamed at him, shaking him. The man was gasping from pain and surprise.

"What the hell is your problem!" The man shouted at him. Castle took a good look at the man's bloodied face. The man had green eyes.

"Oh, crap, you're…you're not him!" Castle realized, getting off of the man. He turned to Beckett, knowing he had just completely blown their cover, but she wasn't there.

Esposito and Ryan ran up to him, breathing heavily. Esposito motioned to the man on the floor. "That him?"

"No, it's not. He got away." Castle admitted dejectedly. He did another scan of his surroundings. "Hey, where's Beckett?"

"She's not with you?" Ryan asked him, looking up on the stage, where entertainers were running around. The club was in a crazed state, but the only thing the three boys noticed was that Beckett wasn't there.

"She came over to me to arrest the guy, but I kinda knocked her out of the way… I don't know where she went after that." Castle said, looking down at his shoes.

"Knowing Beckett, she probably saw the actual perp and went after him." Esposito said, shrugging. Ryan and Castle both shrugged as well.

Castle's phone went off, but no one could hear the chime. Ryan lightly slugged Esposito's shoulder as an attention grabber.

"Castle and I'll go outside and call her, you stay here." Ryan yelled at him over the noise. Esposito nodded and the two left the club.

"I wonder where she went," Ryan thought aloud once he and Castle reached the outside.

Castle took his phone out of his pocket and flipped it open, automatically smiling when he saw that he had a text from Beckett.

"Hey, she texted me." Castle told him, checking the message out. Before he even finished the short sentence, his face paled.

"What's it say?" Ryan asked, not noticing Castle's blood drained face. After reading the message, he felt faint as well.

"_I HAVE HER_"

* * *

Her head was so sore. So frickin' sore.

She groped for the bleeding spot on the side of her head, and froze. She couldn't move her arm. Nervously, she opened her eyes, and stiffened at the barrel in her face.

"Funny, I've never taken a brunette before. Unless you count my wife, of course, but she doesn't really count." The man at the other end of the gun said. He pulled back the gun and slipped it in his belt, pulling Beckett up. She blinked against the pale yellow light fiercely. The room was dark, she could tell that much. It felt like she was surrounded by a sickly yellow halo, in the middle of a pitch-black room.

"What did you do to me?" She muttered. The man simply laughed.

"You can't tell by now? I paralyzed you. Atracrim. Don't worry, it's not permanent. Actually, your nerves should be working again in the next ten minutes."

Ten minutes. So much could happen in ten minutes.

"So, since it's going to be ten minutes until the excitement starts, how are things going for the case, Detective?"

He sat her in a chair and she felt herself slump. "I don't know, Shawn, why don't you tell me?"

"Oh come on. Where's the fun in that?" He teased, pushing a lock of her hair behind her ear. He left into the darkness and came back with another chair, sitting in it.

"Is Gina still here?" Beckett asked. Shawn nodded.

"Yes, she is… Somewhere around here. You'll meet up with her later."

Having nothing to say, she just glared him down. He looked down and placed his chin in his fist, thinking.

"Oh, I have a good topic to talk about. How are things with you and Castle?"

Beckett was glad that she had control of her eyes, and she narrowed them. "That's none of your business."

"Oh, so things aren't going well then. I don't blame that, considering what happened between you two a few months ago. I just can't imagine how you must have felt, watching them walk away like that, and just when you were going to tell him how you really felt. That must have been really painful."

"You don't know what you're talking about!" Beckett shouted at him, the clenching sting of the event piercing her heart.

"No, you don't know what you're talking about. I'm doing you a favor. I got rid of Gina for you, and you had Castle all to yourself. But no, you spent that time searching for me."

"Even if your ludicrous story was true, it wouldn't matter." She hissed through her teeth, wishing she could stand, or even just sit up straight.

"You know what your problem is, Kate? It's that you push people away. Even before your mother's murder, you did, didn't you? You didn't stay with your mother; you went with your dad. If you were with her, you could have protected her. But no, you would rather go with your dad."

Beckett felt icy and fiery tears slip down her cheeks.

"You pushed away every guy you've ever been with, haven't you? You pushed away Will, you would rather stay than go with him, and you just couldn't convince him to stay. Then he came back, and wanted to start over with you. But what did you do? You pushed him away, again. What about Tom Demming? Perfect guy, and you just led him on. And at the end, you knocked him down, and why? So you could be with Castle. Well, that totally worked out, didn't it?"

She didn't want to know how he knew that. She didn't want to know anything anymore. The emotional pain that had been building up her whole life was slowly tipping. One more word from him and she would blow.

"He was smiling, right? Smiling at Gina, smiling while the two walked away, arms around each other's shoulders." He smirked at her clenched teeth. "Well, on the bright side he said he'd see you in the fall, right? And he was going to call, and tell you when he was back in town, wasn't he?"

She tried to flex her arm. Nope, still not moving. The tear in her throat grew larger, and she swallowed loudly against her will.

"Oh… That's right. He didn't call. He didn't do anything, did he? He was probably too busy with Gina. Remember all those times he hid from her, and you inwardly smiled because he would rather stay with you then with her?"

Beckett closed her eyes; afraid they would give away her weakness. She refused to let him see his satisfaction in her eyes.

"I asked you if you remembered."

She didn't move; she didn't exactly have a choice there.

He stood up and gripped her jaw. "Answer the question!"

"No," she growled, her eyes slowly opening, "I don't remember that, because it never existed."

He let go of her and sat back down. "You can keep telling yourself that, but you know it's not true."

She closed her eyes once more. He was clawing at her weakness, getting so close…

"I have the one thing that will solve all your problems with Castle, guaranteed. Heck, I can even think of a book title for it. Convenient Crime."

He loomed over her, and he bent down to her ear. "All you have to do is get Gina out of the way. Then Castle would be all yours."

Her eyes snapped open. "I would never kill anyone for selfish reasons."

"But Kate, how are these selfish? All the pain you felt from Castle, it was all her fault. Shouldn't she pay for what she did? You've held in your anger all this time; it's time to let it out."

He couldn't get to her. She wouldn't let him.

"You can't block me out." He whispered in her ear, grinning. "Think about it. Let the anger consume you. If you get rid of Gina, Castle would be only yours. Forever."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Gina didn't hold up the end of our bargain. She didn't get rid of Castle. And you know why? Because she was _in love_ with him. So now, I have to get rid of her."

"Why would you get rid of Castle?"

"Because my wife is obsessed with him! It's always Rick this, and Rick that. It's never about me! She's always on about that freak!" He took a deep breath and glared at her. "Gina promised to do the task for me, but obviously she failed. And now that I have you, you're going to deal with her for me. And I know you won't fail me, because you're Detective Kate Beckett. The one cop who puts up with Castle every single day. The one whose mother was murdered, and it was never solved. The one cop who is probably the best in the city! Who better than you to do this?"

Beckett didn't answer. Her attention was focused on the feeling in her fingers.

"Hmm… It's been about fifteen minutes. It must be wearing off by now."

He slowly pulled her up, and making sure she could stand, he walked into the shadows.

Automatically, her hand reached for her gun, but it wasn't there. She realized that she was still in the dress she had performed in, and tugged it down, having a knowing feeling that it had ridden up.

Everything the man had said was true, but she didn't know how. How did he know those things? No one should know those things. No one should have to feel the burden of those things. No one should cause the feelings. Gina shouldn't have caused her that pain. She should have just left it alone! Everything was great! She was finally going to get what she wanted. But no, something had to happen, just like it always did.

Gina didn't deserve to be with Castle. Castle couldn't stand her, so why should he now?

The back of her mind screamed at her unreasonableness, but Beckett didn't listen to it for once.

Shawn returned, and someone else was with him. Gina was being dragged along by her shoulders, and her face was dirty with dried tears.

"Kate, say hi to Gina."

The anger bubbling up inside her threatened to come out, but she held it down. She would let it out soon.

Sitting Gina down in a chair across from Beckett, Shawn taped down her wrists and ankles. He came up behind Beckett, and for the first time, she wondered why she didn't run.

"Okay, Kate. This is it. The moment you've been waiting for." He thrust a gun into her hand and pulled his own out, pointing it at her. He walked back towards Gina. "Don't even think of pointing that at me, or you both die."

Trembling, Beckett lifted her arm in Gina's direction. She realized that the gun she was holding was her own, and her arm steadied. She would not miss.

"Soak it in, Kate. The moment you get what you deserve."

_Don't do this_, she thought. _This isn't right_.

_Screw that_! Another part of her mind said. _After all that she's caused you! Take the opportunity! Do it!_

"No," she muttered, her arm lowering. Shawn shook his head and leaned towards Gina, who backed away profusely.

"Gina, what did you do during your first night at the Hamptons?" Shawn asked her. Gina shook her head at Beckett. "Tell her!" He rubbed her arm, and Beckett could tell Gina was about to scream.

"We talked! We spent the night talking!" Gina shrieked, not looking at either of them.

"That's a lie!" He rubbed her arm harder, and tears fell down her cheeks.

"We… We spent the night together." She whispered in a meek voice. Beckett's heart tore at that.

Satisfaction coating his features, Shawn looked at Beckett.

"Kate, why don't you tell Gina what you did the first night Castle was in the Hamptons?"

"I was at home, reading a book." Beckett spat, forcing her arm to stay low. Shawn nodded.

"What book?"

Looking away, Beckett hissed through clenched teeth, "Heat Wave."

"Ah. So while you were reading Castle's… Shall we say, stories, Gina was-"

"I know what she was doing!" Beckett cried. _Get a hold over yourself!_ Her mind screamed. Beckett couldn't believe how quickly she was slipping. This shouldn't be happening.

"Beckett," Gina said in a small voice, "I'm sorry, but this isn't the right way to handle things."

Without answering, Beckett raised the gun once more.

"After all the pain you caused me, and as much as I hate you…" Beckett whispered. _I can't do this. This isn't who I am. This isn't me._

She pulled the trigger.


	14. Twist

**A/N: Castle belongs to its respective owners.**

Castle screamed in anger as he hurled his phone onto the asphalt. Ryan almost jumped in surprise.

"Dude, calm down."

Breathing heavily, Castle glared at him. "Why should I calm down! Those men took Beckett, and I was right there! Right there!"

Esposito power-walked out of the club. He squared his shoulders, sighing.

"No sign of Beckett in there. You?" Esposito asked, raising his eyebrows at the broken phone on the ground.

"The kidnappers sent us a text. They have her." Ryan said quietly, starting to walk towards his car. Esposito cursed.

Castle starting running in the direction of his car, and neither of the cops stopped him.

Getting into his car, Castle slammed the door and dropped his head on the steering wheel. He looked up, making sure no one was coming near him. He didn't want to deal with anyone right now.

God, this couldn't be happening. First Gina, then Alexis, now… Kate. And it was his entire fault.

Gina's taking had hit him hard, but he was able to deal. True, they had not been getting along, but they were getting there. What scared him was that he hadn't even shed a tear over it. Yes, he worried for countless hours on end, but he was able to handle it without breaking.

Alexis. Now that definitely drove him over the edge. He wasn't even ashamed to admit that he had spent nights breaking down over the event, and he still did once he was sure Alexis was asleep. He didn't know if he would ever feel if she was safe again.

And now Beckett. Kate. He didn't even feel this horrible over Alexis. Well, for Alexis, he felt a very different kind of pain. For Gina, he wasn't even sure what he felt was pain. But for Kate…

He wasn't scared. He wasn't worried.

He was mad.

A tap at the window stopped his thoughts. Looking up, he saw Esposito's worried face looking down at him. Without invitation, he came inside the car and frowned at Castle weary state. Castle was sure that he was about to bite his head off about his actions, but Esposito just sat and stared, waiting for Castle to start.

"I can't believe I let this happen. I shouldn't have knocked her out of the way; I should have stayed out of it. I… I just don't know what came over me! I wanted him to pay; it was as if I wanted to beat the living Hell out of him!" Castle growled, avoiding Esposito's gaze. Esposito just shrugged.

"It's your protective side, bro. Everyone has one."

"But I've never felt that before. I mean, my face was on fire, and I could only see him, and all I wanted to do was get him. Do you know what I mean?"

"I'm sure all cops do. It's what we're trained to feel sometimes. It's an offense mechanism; it controls us. It's how… It's how we're able to shift our focus to the task at hand. All we can feel is the bubbling need to get justice for the wrongs the perp did."

"That is a pretty good description of how I felt."

Esposito stayed silent for a few minutes. Finally, he looked out the window and slumped.

"I know you don't want to talk about it, but I need you to tell me exactly what happened. Ryan and I only arrived after you beat the guy. So what happened?"

"Well… Beckett just finished her performance, and I ran after the guy, and tackled him. I felt Beckett pull me off him, and she took out her cuffs, but I was just so angry that I pushed her out of the way and went back to beating the guy. I didn't see her after that."

"I can understand your motive for getting her out of the way; I won't hold that on you. But I don't get how she was taken and no one noticed. Someone had to have noticed something."

"It's like they knew we were coming. I mean I get that we went there because they should be there, but it just feels like we were set up, and not the kidnappers."

"It does feel that way."

Castle leaned back and thought about the sea of faces in the club. He didn't understand how he missed him; Alexis even agreed to have a sketch artist for the guy. Someone must have tipped him off, but the only people who knew were his family, the precinct, and… Castle sat straight up. Georgia.

"Was Georgia released yet?" Castle asked, the wheels in his head turning.

"The kidnapper's wife? Yeah, she was let out a few hours before we left for the club. She alibied out. Kinda of dumb, considering that she went to all the trouble of being arrested and taking the blame, when it turns out that she had an alibi all along."

"Georgia was released? Are you sure?"

"Yeah, man, I think I would be."

Castle shot up.

"Then it must have been her! She tipped Shawn off!"

"Why the hell would she do that? She gave up Shawn."

"Because… Because…" Castle gasped. "Because Georgia's the kidnapper! I mean, Shawn is too, but so is she! They're in it together! She confessed, knowing that she would alibi herself out! We let her out, and she told Shawn the plan, so he could get Beckett! It's perfect!"

Esposito shook his head. "Why would she wanna get Beckett? And why would she be in it? It's not like she has a reason, right?"

"'Cause Shawn isn't the boss. Georgia is the criminal mastermind! She planned everything, and Shawn was happy to oblige!"

"…That didn't answer my question."

"Right. Okay, so let's see… Georgia still wants me, and at the time I was with Gina. She must have taken Gina first, and since she had a son, she got rid of Alexis, also."

"But by the way she confessed…"

"Maybe Shawn deceived her! He took her son so she wouldn't back out. Shawn wants to be with her, but she wants to be with me, so… So Shawn helped her, thinking that using Gina would get me out of her mind, but she was actually using him to get to me! By eliminating Gina and Alexis, she thought that I would take her back, although I never exactly kicked her out… But anyway, that's it!"

"Then why would she take Beckett?"

"Because she views Beckett as competition!" Castle blurted out. He quickly covered his mouth. Esposito raised and eyebrow at him.

"Is she competition?"

Castle didn't answer at first. Slowly, he slid down in his seat.

"I… I think she is."

Despite the situation, Esposito grinned.

"About time. Now come on, let's go find Georgia."

Esposito got out of his car, and as soon as he closed the door, Castle started the engine and drove off, leaving Esposito in the dust.

Was Beckett really competition? He didn't see her as competition, but the more he thought about it…

All those times he saw her with another guy, or when he left with Gina… Something was always missing. Was Beckett the missing piece?

No, that was crazy. Beckett wouldn't want him, would she?

But if she really did, then he should take the chance, right?

But what about Gina? He had asked her to get over Beckett, and after all this, could he actually consider?

But then again, he could be wrong.

God, he really needed to stop thinking.

Wait, where was he going?

Hitting the brakes, Castle did a 180 and sped back to the club. Arriving in less than three minutes, he wasn't surprised to see Esposito and Ryan approaching him.

He jumped out of his car and ran over to the boys.

"Sorry about that, I-"

"Don't worry about it Castle." Ryan assured. "Espo filled me in. Do you have any idea where she could be? We sent uniforms to her house, but I doubt she's there. When you knew her, did she ever have any hangouts?"

"It was one night, the only places we were were at the party and my apartment."

His phone suddenly beeped.

Flipping it open, Castle scanned the menu till he found the new message. Opening it, he read it aloud.

"_Meet me where we first met; I know you know that it was me_." Castle read. "It's from Unknown."

"Do you think it's from Georgia?" Esposito asked. Castle shrugged.

"I don't know, but it's worth a shot. I'll go there, and you guys follow up. But don't come in; I have to do this alone." Castle ordered. The partners nodded.

"But if something goes wrong, we won't hesitate. We're partners; we stick together." Ryan said. Castle smiled.

"Come on, I'll show you the way."

* * *

Taking a deep breath, and getting the okay from Ryan and Esposito, Castle entered the warehouse. He found it a little cliché that it was almost pitch-black inside, but he kept his thoughts on the task at hand. The single spotlight in the middle of the room was a little dramatic, though.

"Rick, you came." Georgia's voice purred from the shadows. Castle walked towards the light.

"Of course I came."

He stepped into the light, and felt hands run down his arms. He turned abruptly, but there was no one there. A giggle emitted into his ear from his left, but there was nothing there either.

"You finally came to your senses?" She asked, her profile still hidden.

"Yes, yes I did. I realized that it was you all along. And I have to say, Georgia, that I am impressed."

"I'm glad."

Castle found it weird talking into the shadows, and kept his guard up.

"But you do know that I'm not here for you, though, right?"

"You may not realize it yet, but you are. It's always been about me. You may think that you're here on account of Gina, but you're wrong."

"It's not Gina I'm here for."

"Really? That's surprising. Well, not really, considering you're here for me. Okay, who do you think you're here for?"

"I'm here for Beckett."

He heard her throaty laugh.

"Yes, of course you'd come for that slut."

Castle's temper rose faster than the speed of light. "Don't you dare call her that!"

"Whatever. Anyway, enough about her. I'd like to hear your theory on how I did the kidnapping. At the very least it will make a good story."

"Oh come on, Georgia. You and I both know that it would come better from you, the real mastermind of it all."

"True, true. Alright. Let's see… It all started when we find out that my Colin wasn't yours, and you shut me out of your life. A few years later, I reconnected with an old friend on FaceBook, and we met up. I told him about Colin, and he was kind enough to get tested. It turns out that my little boy was his. He was glad to stick with me, the poor man. He thought that I actually loved him. We got married, and started our life together. But I never forgot you. When that issue in Cosmo came out, I knew that I had waited long enough. I had to take action.

"I had to first start with Gina, I mean she was the one who stole you away with me. Second, the only way you, me, and Colin could be happy was if it was just us three, so I had to get her out of the way as well.

"I told my husband that Gina was helping Castle forget about me; that was a lie of course. He kept surveillance on her, and when he saw that she wasn't doing her part, we agreed that she needed to be taken care of. My husband was very happy to do it; he knew of my infatuation with you. Gina had no idea what was going on, which made it even more exciting.

"Shawn thought that you would go to Beckett, but the two of you came for Gina, which was very surprising. We both thought that Beckett would take advantage of your distress, but she didn't.

"The closer you got, the farther we had to get you away. So I urged Shawn to take Alexis. He was against taking a child, but a little encouragement helped him. He started to get excited, but when he had to kill Alexis, he almost broke down. Unfortunately, you found her, and she survived.

"I was so happy to see you again at my doorstep; but when Beckett was there, I knew that she was trouble also. Thankfully, Shawn was willing to take on the task. Plus, you were just so easy to fool.

"Beckett should be taking care of Gina right now, permanently."

Castle paused the recorder app on his phone.

Georgia suddenly appeared in front of him, a gun waving dangerously. Her outfit left little to the imagination, which Castle tried to ignore.

"Come with me; we don't want to miss the show." She said in a sultry voice, beckoning him with a hooked finger. Deciding that he would rather follow her than get shot, he followed her into the shadows.

What had happened to her? This wasn't the Georgia he remembered. The Georgia he knew was sweet, and kind, maybe even a little timid, but she was strong. And she was full of love, not hate.

They arrived at a glass wall, and the view was very clear. Castle stopped himself from pounding on the window; he didn't want to upset Georgia.

Beckett was currently holding her right arm out, her gun being squeezed tightly by her grip. Even in the shadiness, he could see tears run down her face. In front of her, Gina seemed to be strapped in a chair, with Shawn next to her.

There was no sound through the wall.

To his horror, Beckett's gun went off. The bullet whisked through the air, heading straight for Gina. Then, time seemed to stop.

This couldn't be happening. Beckett would never kill Gina. He couldn't lose Gina.

But would he rather lose Beckett?

Time sped up. The bullet hit the metal of the chair leg and bounced off, hitting Shawn in the leg.

Beckett ran forward towards Shawn, her gun out in front of her. She took another shot at him, but he shot as well, but his bullet missed her, grazing her hip. Hers hit him straight in the chest, and he crumpled to the ground.

Georgia gasped in outrage, grabbing Castle's arm and pulling him with her. His last glance of Beckett was her falling beside Gina.

* * *

This was it. This was her chance, or else all was lost.

The bullet headed straight for Gina, just like it was supposed to. Although her instincts told her to turn her gun, she kept her arm still. The bullet barely hit Gina's exposed leg, and instead hit the metal chair leg, redirecting it to Shawn's body. She heard the bullet pierce his skin, and by then she was running.

She took another shot at his chest, and she knew that it would not miss. She heard the gun shot of his gun, and her hip burst with pain. Luckily, she knew that it was just a graze. Her shot at his chest was targeted perfectly; and she watched with triumph as he fell to the ground. Turning to see where the bullet had landed, her gaze landed on Gina, and her heart dropped.

The bullet had hit Gina straight in her side; where her liver was.

"Oh god," Beckett whispered to herself. She fell beside Gina and started to tear off the duct tape. Gina gave a groan of protest.

"Don't… Please, find Rick." Gina begged, tears falling.

"No, you're going to be okay. I'm not going to let you die!"

"Detective… I'm not going to make it. Please, just go."

"Gina, I didn't mean all those things I said. I only said those things to buy us time. I didn't mean for it to end like this. I'm so sorry I couldn't stop it." Beckett said softly, her chest heaving.

"You did the best you could… Tell Rick… Tell him that I love him…"

"Anything. Gina, you're going to be okay."

"Thank you, Detective…"

Her eyes closed for the last time.

"No!" Beckett screamed. She started CPR, but she already knew that it was too late.

She heard running behind her, and she jumped up, her gun out at the ready.

"Stay away!" She yelled, her throat sore. Georgia and Castle suddenly popped up in front of her.

"Oh, good. They're both dead. Thanks, Becks." Georgia complimented, shoving the barrel of her gun into Castle's waist. Castle grunted.

"Well, it certainly was fun, but now with Gina and Shawn gone, there's only one person left. You."

"Don't even try, Georgia. You're surrounded."

"Please. You were kidnapped, and I know Rick enough that he would come alone."

Castle's and Beckett's eyes met. He winked.

"You obviously don't know me well enough then."

With a cry, Beckett kicked the gun out of Georgia's hands. In shock, Georgia smacked the ground, Beckett placing her foot on top of her back.

Light filled the musty warehouse as doors swung open. Rough orders were screamed by cops as they crowded the room, their weapons all pointed at Georgia.

"Don't worry, Georgia, I'm sure you'll have lots of time plotting revenge in prison. But for now, it's over."


	15. Closure

**Disclaimer: Castle belongs to its respective owners.**

Georgia screeched at the cops coming towards her. They ignored her, knowing that she was helpless.

"I got it; go check on her!" Beckett told them, motioning her head at Gina's slumped body. Castle finally realized that she was unconscious and ran with the other cops towards her.

"There's no pulse; it's too late." One of the cops informed. Beckett almost fell to her knees onto of Georgia. Esposito ran over to her, bending down to cuff Georgia.

"You can get off of her now…" Esposito informed her. Beckett gave an "oh" of surprise and got off her, going immediately to Gina.

Castle was on his knees in front of her, his hands covering her own. He seemed to be whispering to her, and two tears fell down his face.

"Castle…" Beckett started softly, not sure what to say. Castle didn't turn to her, but she could feel his glare.

"Don't. Don't say anything. Just… Just leave it alone. You'll only make it worse." He muttered, laying his head on Gina's lap. Beckett nodded and walked away, her face twisting into solemn.

He hated her. He must.

She knew something would go wrong. Her plan just seemed so perfect… She was able to fool Shawn into thinking she was going to kill Gina, and now Shawn was dead. The only flaw was that Gina was dead now too.

She knew that she should feel so much remorse, but she didn't. She did feel failure, but remorse? Sadness for Gina's death? Nothing. It was as if nothing changed.

Great, now she felt like a monster.

She wasn't completely lying about all those things she said to Gina. She did hate her, and she did feel a lot of pain about what had happened all those months ago. Strangely, none of her anger was directed at Castle. It was at Gina.

But Gina did nothing wrong; Castle was the one who invited her. Beckett had to decline anyway; she was seeing someone at the time.

But did Gina really have to say that she would "stay on top of him while he finished his book"?

She still didn't fully understand why she was so hurt. She was used to it; that was why she forced herself to never acknowledge Castle. But as time wore on…

He tore away at her shell, her protection. Slowly, he probed his way in.

That was why she suddenly felt a growing attraction that she tried so badly to compress. And that was why she felt all that pain…

It didn't matter anymore. Castle probably loathed her for letting him down. There was no reason to continue hope, was there?

"Hey, boss, you okay?"

Beckett looked up into Esposito's worried face.

"Yeah, sorry." She muttered. "I'm going home; call me if you need anything. I'll drop by later for the paperwork."

"You don't want to take her to jail with us?"

Beckett sighed, pushing hair out of her eyes. She made sure to blink the water out of her eyes. Ryan started walking over to her, but she ignored him.

"No."

She turned to walk away, when she suddenly groaned and her hand flew to her hip. Ryan jogged over to her. She looked down at her blood-soaked side and felt light-headed.

"You'd better sit down." Ryan advised. She didn't need another invitation.

They helped her out of the building and sat her on the back of an ambulance. Medics poked at her and gave her medicine. It seemed as if almost everyone was clouding around her.

"Hey, take her inside if you're gonna do that." Esposito ordered, seeing one of the doctors trying to pull down her dress so he could examine the wound. The medics carefully hauled her inside the truck and closed the doors.

"It doesn't look as if any bullet fragments are caught in the skin," one of the doctors told her. She nodded weakly. "Although… It looks as if it shattered the tip of your femur. That'll take a while to heal, but it's doable." The doctor covered her face with a mask. "Here. When you wake up, you'll be in the hospital, alright?"

Beckett nodded, but her heart clenched. She hated hospitals, and she hated doctors. If she weren't so weak, she would fight her way out of the ambulance, and go somewhere else for help.

She inhaled the anesthetic, and she slowly fell unconscious, her facial muscles relaxing, which gave away the emotional pain she was trying so hard to conceal.

* * *

He hoped that she hadn't taken his words the wrong way.

He didn't mean them in a harsh way; he just needed to be alone with…her.

Gina. His poor Gina.

True, she had annoyed the hell out of him, and true, he hated her at times. But this? She didn't deserve this. Not at all.

He couldn't believe he had let such an event take place. If only Gina wasn't in the kitchen… Maybe if he was with her…

"_Look, you're going to be making up every possible scenario in the next few days. 'If only you'd been there...' 'If only you didn't work so late…' And I'm telling you, it's not your fault."_

Beckett's words filled his mind. He knew the truth behind her words, and he believed her, but he never thought that something like this would happen to him…

He wondered how Beckett was taking it.

Knowing her, she was probably taking all the blame.

He shook his head.

Oh, Beckett. She always took responsibility. Even for things she had no cause in.

He suddenly regretted telling her to leave it alone. What else had he said? Oh, right.

"_You'll only make it worse."_

Real smooth.

She was most likely beating herself up, carrying the emotional pain that was added to everyday.

She hadn't killed her, Shawn did. He was the one who shot her, yet he was trying to shoot Beckett…

What would that go for?

'Accidental Murder?' 'Manslaughter Charge For Wrong Murder?'

Never mind. This wasn't helping.

Slowly, he pushed himself away from Gina and stood up, hurriedly wiping the tears off his face. He turned, expecting to see Beckett, but instead came face to face with silence. He was the only one in the room.

Well, at least they were kind enough to give him some space.

Sighing, he took one last look at Gina, then left, lightly closing the door.

* * *

When she woke, the first thing she saw was the pale, white ceiling. Her stomach lurched.

She was in the hospital.

God, she hated hospitals. And apparently, hospitals hated her.

She always tried to leave, even if she knew she wasn't ready. Hospitals always gave her nightmares… When she was asleep, and awake.

There was a cough beside her, and she turned her head to see the smiling faces of Ryan and Esposito.

"Hey, boss, how ya doing?" Esposito asked, his eyes tired. Beckett just raised her eyebrows.

"When am I getting out of here?"

The boys just sighed. They were used to this.

"Surgery's already done, but you were shot just a few hours ago… So probably sometimes in this month." Ryan informed, shrugging. Both detectives braced themselves; they knew what was coming.

"A month?" Beckett yelled. Esposito shrugged meekly. "I am not waiting a month for some stupid bone to heal."

Turning her attention to her side that wasn't facing the men, she pulled back the covers and lifted her gown, inspecting the bandages wrapped around her hips. Slowly, she sat up, and feeling no pain, tried to get out of the bed and stand up. Of course, Ryan quickly objected.

"You probably shouldn't do that…" Ryan warned. Beckett ignored him.

She stood up, and was glad to feel no pain. A little pressure maybe, but no searing pain. Besides, she was sure she had felt worse.

"I'm going to the bathroom," Beckett muttered, kicking a backpack out from under the bed, which held her undergarments, jeans, and her signature white blouse. Somehow, she knew it was there. She made sure the boys didn't see the bag, and hurried into the bathroom to change secretly, IV still attached.

"Should we stop her?" Ryan asked, having a sinking feeling of what she was about to do.

"Her injury will stop her, but in any case, yeah, we'd better. You remember what happened the last time." Esposito muttered. Ryan nodded slowly.

"Man, she was screaming like crazy. And I thought it was the hospital drugs."

"Ever since the incident, hospitals just freak her out. That proves that she's gonna make a run for it."

Beckett peeked her head out of the bathroom.

"Now, Beckett, we know what you're thinking. But listen, you really need to stay here…"

To their utter surprise, she laughed.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to make a scene like last time."

"Oh, good." Ryan breathed.

"Hey, could you guys get me some lunch?'

"Oh, sure…" Esposito assured. The two left the room.

In the hall, Esposito stopped Ryan from following him.

"I'll go down to the food court; you stand guard." He ordered. Ryan whined.

"Why can't you do it?"

"Dude, I did it last time! Look, just don't let her leave the room, and don't talk about last time."

Ryan huffed. "Fine."

Esposito left down the hall, and Ryan banged his head against the wall.

Beckett exited the bathroom, fully dressed, plotting. She ripped the IV out of her arm.

Ryan was guarding her, so it wouldn't be easy to leave. Of course, she could take him, but she was injured…

She could call Ryan in, then slip past him, but he might block the door…

She really needed to get out of there.

Distracting him was the best chance she had, so she backed against the curtains and called out to him.

"Ryan! Could you come here!"

Just like she planned, he walked in.

"Yeah? Beckett?" He walked into the room, giving her just enough room to slip out. She started inching out, and mouthed an apology when she slammed the glass door and locked it from the outside. Ryan cursed and pounded against the door, but Beckett had already started sprinting.

She smiled in the fresh air of the streets, and hailed a taxi. She ran over to it when her side suddenly erupted with pain. She clutched at the burn as she tumbled into the open taxi, and gritting her teeth, told the driver "Intersection of Broome and Crosby, SoHo, please."

* * *

He decided to stop at home and change before he stopped at the precinct for his statement. He didn't want to write his overdramatic event with Gina's blood on his hands.

Castle was glad to see his daughter's face, but the heavy feeling in his heart didn't go away. He washed his hands and plopped on his couch, slouching. Alexis wheeled herself over to him.

"Hey, dad." She greeted. Castle just nodded, his mind somewhere else. "So… I heard the news… I'm really sorry, dad."

Castle still didn't answer. All he could think about was Gina's dead form, and Beckett's guilty one.

"So… Did you figure out what happened?" She asked hopefully, trying to get him to open up. Surprisingly, Castle turned towards her.

"Georgia staged it all. She wanted me, as pompous as that sounds. She even married someone else to get to me."

"Wow… Well, don't let it get to your head."

Castle allowed himself a ghost of a smile.

"Don't worry. My heads too self-centered as it is."

Alexis laughed. "There's the dad I know."

Castle leaned over and gave his daughter a hug. He nuzzled his face into her hair as her face was compressed into his chest. It wasn't a forceful move; just a loving gesture of two people who really needed it.

When she pulled away, she asked him, "So how's Colin?"

Castle gave her a strange look, but then his eyes widened.

"We never found him…"

Alexis gasped and leaned forward.

"Dad! We have to find him! I promised him I would keep him safe!" She cried. Castle nodded and stood up.

"Stay here. I'll go to the precinct and see if they found anything. I promise we'll get him back."

Alexis nodded, her throat too clogged up to speak. Castle grabbed his coat and went out the door, giving his daughter one last smile before leaving.

Alexis's stance relaxed once more in her wheelchair, but her heart didn't.

She had promised him safety, and now he was missing.

Colin. Poor, little Colin…

* * *

"You okay, Miss?" The taxi driver asked her, hearing her light pants. Beckett nodded.

"I'm fine, thank you. I just have a stitch in my side."

"Well, we're almost there."

Beckett smiled at him.

"So, what's going on in SoHo? You visiting a friend?"

_He's visiting a friend…_

Colin… She never found him… He was still missing… Georgia said he was with a friend… A friend…

"Excuse me?" She asked him. "I need to change my direction."

* * *

"Are you sure there's no news of him?"

"I'm sorry, Castle, but no. There's been no news of Georgia's son. We have sent an ad out, though, so there is a chance we'll find him." Montgomery told him. Castle sighed and plopped into the chair opposite the Captain's desk.

"Has… Has Georgia confessed?"

"She confessed to everything." Montgomery told him, leaning on his desk. Castle nodded. "There were a few things she evaded. I thought that maybe you could figure them out?" Castle nodded again.

"This man, Marc. Georgia wouldn't give him up. Alexis knew who he was, do you have any idea? Our system's backlogged, so I can't search him at the moment."

"Marc?" Castle asked. "Marc… That's Georgia's brother. Marc Hancock. I think he's an anti-cop. At least, when I knew her, he was recently fired off the job."

"And why do you think they asked for money, when that wasn't their intention?"

"Just to throw us off, I suppose. I mean, Georgia's parents were loaded, but all the money went to Georgia's sister, Janet, who had a stroke, and then all the money went to Janet's daughter, whose name I don't remember."

The captain nodded, not offering any smiles.

"Have you written your statement?"

"Yeah. Hey, you guys listened to my recording, right?"

"Yes, we have. It's a very strong piece of evidence. It was pretty smart of you to record it. Are you sure there's no cop in there somewhere?"

Castle pondered, leaning on his open palm. "My mom was on NYPD Blue."

The captain gave him a weird look. "I thought she was the crazy, homeless woman."

Castle shrugged. Montgomery sighed.

"How're you holding up?"

"It's… It's hard, you know. It's like when my dog Lady died… But don't compare Gina to that. I'm heartbroken, but for some reason, I feel like it would be worse if Alexis or Be-"

"Alexis is your daughter. There's no way you could mourn over anyone else more that your daughter, am I right? At least, that's how it feels with my son."

Castle nodding, deciding not to finish his sentence. He wondered what he should say to break the awkward silence, when Montgomery's phone rang.

"Montgomery… Oh, how's she doing…? Wait, what do you mean she's not there? Are you saying she got out? Esposito, you know what happened the last time Beckett wasn't restrained in the hospital! Yes… I know she hates them. Yes, I remember… But how did she get out? You two must've been guarding her…" Montgomery paused for a minute, then started fuming. "She locked Ryan in the room? Have you checked all the floors…? No one's seen her?" He stood up. "You're telling me that Beckett, who just got out of surgery a few hours ago, escaped the hospital? Well don't make up excuses, find her before someone else does!" He slammed down the phone.

"Sir?" Castle asked unsurely. The captain almost glared at him.

"Beckett's not recovered yet, and she left the hospital."

"Someone took her out?"

"No… She escaped. Hospitals frighten her, ever since that incident in 2000. The next time she was there in '05, she was scared, and made a scene. I swear, I've never seen her scream like that. Every time she saw a doctor, she would either run, or hide. And now, somehow without getting caught, she escaped the hospital."

"Sir, if it's okay, what exactly happened to her in 2000?"

"That was so long ago, yet it seems like it was just yesterday… Beckett was at a Judo stakeout, but the killer spotted her and got away. Before he got away, though, she fought him, and he stabbed her shoulder. We couldn't locate him, but Beckett had to be taken to the hospital. She was fine, but her first night there… The killer posed as a doctor, and snuck into her room in the middle of the night and… Attacked her. Luckily, he was caught, but Beckett was completely traumatized. She was so helpless in there, and that was what led to her hatred of hospitals. She couldn't trust them."

"I remember reading about that… They never mentioned the name of the detective, though. I thought that he had tried to-"

"I'd prefer you don't say it out loud, and instead just settle with 'attacked.'"

"Sorry."

"And the next time in '05, she was too frightened to stay overnight. Beckett was always so brave; it was truly horrifying to see her in such a state. I never knew she could scream like that. So instead, we finally agreed to let Lanie take care of her instead of the hospital. And this time, apparently she just snuck out." He sighed. "I knew she would try to leave, but I thought that we would be able to prevent it. We've tried new hospitals, different people, even just female doctors, but she never let up.

"I just hope she knows where she's going." Montgomery finished. Castle agreed.

"If I was Beckett… I would want to go somewhere safe. Somewhere where I would know I would feel better… Like home. But I don't have a home, so I would want to go to the next possibility. But I would want my stuff…" Castle jumped up and left the office. "I think I know where she's going. I'll call the precinct if I find her!" Castle called, calling the elevator.

As soon as Montgomery heard the elevator close, his phone rang.

"Montgomery." He greeted.

"_Captain, it's Beckett. I-_"

"Beckett? What the hell have you done? You've broken out of a hospital, running loose all over New York, and now-"

"_Sir, I know where Georgia's son, Colin, is._"

Montgomery paused his rant.

"_There was a man involved with the kidnapping. His name is Marc. Do you know who I'm talking about?_"

"Marc? As in Marc Hancock? As a matter of fact, I was just talking about him. I'm about to check up on him in our system. Why?"

"_I need his home address. NOW._"

"Alright, hold on." Montgomery logged on onto his computer and quickly checked into records. He was about to tell her that the system was backlogged, but the records quickly came up. "Hmm… You're in luck, Beckett. His last known address was 26 Tron Ct., New Jersey."

"_Thank you, Sir. I'll get in touch as soon as I can._"

"No. As soon as this is over, you're going to check yourself in a hospital."

"_But, Sir-_"

"No buts!"

"…_Okay, Sir._"

"Now go catch him."

* * *

Alexis and Martha looked to the door as soon as Castle opened it. They smiled at him hopefully, but Castle didn't bother to hide his disappointment.

"Well?" Alexis asked. Castle sat down on the couch next to Martha.

"They don't have any news, yet. But they an ad out, so I'm sure something will come up."

"Oh, I'm sorry kiddo." Martha said, patting Castle's hand.

"But you're sure that he'll eventually be found?" Alexis asked him. Castle had never lied to her; he wasn't about to start now.

"I don't know, Alexis. I really don't know."

Alexis let out a whimper and dropped her head into her lap. Martha rubbed her back.

"How's Beckett doing?" Martha asked softly. Castle shrugged.

"I haven't talked to her. But from what I've seen, probably not too good."

Castle mentally swore to explain everything he had thought to Beckett the next time he saw her.

"Rick, do you even know where she is?"

"No. But I think I know where she's heading."

* * *

"Miss, I don't think there's anyone here."

Beckett got out of the taxi, holding her side. She flung a twenty at the driver.

"Thanks. Don't wait up." Beckett told him, tripping over to the dark house in front of her. The driver shrugged and drove off, leaving Beckett in the dust.

She lifted up the side of her blouse and saw that her stitches were ripping. She gritted her teeth and placed her hand reflectively on her hip.

She had no gun.

The door was unlocked. She entered the house, breathing heavily. It looked deserted.

Next to the door was a crowbar, so she picked it up for protection as she walked through the house.

She passed a bedroom and a dining room. There was another room at the end of the hall she was in.

Her breath hitched and she stopped as she heard shuffling at the end of the hall. She tightened her grip on the crowbar and shouldered the door at the end of the hallway. She stuck her crowbar out and took in the scene before her.

Marc was standing in front of a packed suitcase, with Colin on the floor in a pen. He took one look at her and charged.

She swung the crowbar with a cry and winced as it came in contact with his skull. He fell to the ground, unconscious.

Groaning, she lent down and examined him. He was alive; she could tell that much.

Standing up, she speed-dialed the precinct and told them the address. She hung up and looked down at Colin, who looked very uncomfortable.

"Hello, Colin." She picked him up, ignoring her side. "I've heard so much about you. I'm Kate."

"Kate." He repeated. She nodded. He then grinned.

"Katie! Katie!" He started sucking his thumb. She kissed his cheek and carried him out of the house, waiting for the cops to come.

Once they did, she talked to the man in charge. She convinced him to let her take Colin to a friend's for the time being.

"Come on, Colin," Beckett whispered into his ear. He giggled and blew on her ear. "We're going to go visit Lexi."

* * *

Castle jumped as a knock came at his door. Alexis looked up expectantly from the nook she was skimming.

He opened it quickly, but Alexis squealed before he could say a word.

"COLIN!" Alexis screamed, wheeling over to Beckett, who had Colin securely in her arms. She lowered him into Alexis's open arms.

"Lexi!" Colin babbled, grinning at her. She laughed as a few tears trickled down her face. She gave him a tight hug.

Alexis and Colin looked up at Beckett and Castle, and Alexis, knowing when people needed to be alone, wheeled herself and Colin out of the room.

"Beckett." Castle greeted. She smiled at him awkwardly. "Uh, please, come in."

"Thank you," she said quietly as she staggered in. She took a seat on the couch.

He sat down next to her; to close for her comfort.

"Are…are you okay?" He asked her. Beckett shrugged.

"I could ask you the same thing. But I would know your answer."

Castle stayed silent. Beckett's eyes glanced to look at something, anything that wasn't him.

"So, what do you plan to do now?" He asked her.

"I think I might take some time off, actually. I'll probably visit my dad; maybe stay there for a while. Just until everything is back to normal…"

"I don't think it'll ever be 'normal' again."

Beckett nodded her agreement. God, she wished things were less awkward.

As they sat, Castle pondered in silence.

Was she really leaving? What if she never came back? He couldn't stand to lose her also…

"Well, I just came by to drop off Colin. I should probably get going. I'll… I'll give you news when I leave." Beckett said, her breath wavering. She shakily stood up, starting to walk to the door. Castle lightly caught her elbow.

She turned and blushed as she realized how close they were. She looked up at Castle expectantly, and did a double take as he leaned down and brushed his lips against hers.

Just as quickly as it came, it went away. Beckett wondered if it was, or if she had imagined it.

"Kate- I'm sorry. I just… If you left me too, I just needed to do that if you never came back-"

Kate cut him off as she raised herself, putting her head on her shoulder. She whispered in his ear:

"_It isn't bad if you believe that now and always you'll stay in my heart  
Mon chere, I could never leave, no I will never leave  
I will never leave you_"

* * *

Colin giggled as Alexis wheeled behind the doorframe, saving the picture in her phone. She then went to her contacts and texted the picture to everyone she knew at the precinct.

She was going to win so much money from the Precinct Pot tonight.

**THE END!**

**I know, the ending was a bit cheesy... But I still like it. I'm sorry it took me SO long to update the last chapter, but I tried my best!**

**I really hoped you enjoyed reading the story as much as I enjoyed writing it!**

**Please Review!  
**


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